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DE L’ENFANT JESUS

1873—1897

ACCORDING TO THE OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS OF THE
CARMEL OF LISIEUX

BY

MGR. LAVEILLE

APOSTOLIC PROTONOTARY, VICAR-GENERAL OF MEAUX
(CROWNED BY THE FRENCH ACADEMY)

Translated by
REV. M. FITZSIMONS, O.M.I.

New York, CINncINNATI, CHIcAGo, SAN FRANCISCO

BENZIGER BROTHERS

PUBLISHERS TO THE HOLY SEE

First published 1928

NIHIL OBSTAT :
GEORGIUS D. SMITH,
Censor deputatus.

IMPRIMATUR:
EpDM. CAN. SURMONT,
Vicarius generalts.

WESTMONASTERII,
Die 264 Novemébris, 1928.

On Sale at
THE CENTRAL OFFICE OF LISIEUX

Depot FoR CaNADA: 4508, RESTHER STREET, MONTREAL
Depot FOR UNITED STATES: 442, CiLLEY Roap, MANCHESTER, N.H.

Made and Printed in Great Britain

WT 4

LETTER TO THE AUTHOR

From MONSEIGNEUR BAUDRILLART ?!

CATHOLIC INSTITUTE OF Paris,
74, RUE DE VAUGIRARD,
September 12, 1925.

MONSEIGNEUR AND DEAR CONFRERE,

You have graciously announced to me the publica-
tion in the near future of your Life of St Thérése de l Enfant
Jésus. The news has filled me with joy both on your
account and hers, a sentiment which I had experienced
the moment I learned that the Carmelites of Lisieux had
chosen you to write a complete biography of their dear
saint.

Assuredly, other biographies have already popularized
this touching and holy life—biographies, too, of undeniable
merit. Something more, however, remained to be done;
it was fitting that a biography, definite as possible in facts,
rich in document and doctrine, should be given to the
clients of her in whose honour sanctuaries of prayer are
being raised throughout the Christian world, and whom
millions honour with tender devotion in the hidden
sanctuary of the heart.

Who among spiritual biographers of our day is pos-
sessed of wider experience or surer doctrine than yours ?
How numerous the saints, both men and women, how
many the Founders and Foundresses, whom you have
already studied in their life and works. What a number

1 Translator’s note: This letter forms the Preface to the

French editions.
Vv

v1 LETTER-PREFACE

of diverse figures have been delineated by your pen.
How many minds and characters, differing widely, yet
all one in a common sanctity, you have intimately known.

Has not your historian’s pen therein acquired a singular
suppleness, your judgement a more searching keenness ?
In this special work, however, the ordinary qualities of
the writer and historian, be they even possessed in an
eminent degree, are not sufficient. The sense of the
supernatural must be there, added to a profound know-
ledge of ascetic and mystical theology.

In all these respects nothing is wanting to you. Were
you not formed in that grand school of spirituality
of Bérulle and Condren which Abbé Brémond so justly
calls the French school of the seventeenth century?
Have you not for years taught in the Scholasticate and
Novitiate of the Oratory, showing priestly souls the road
to perfection? Have you not also found the Carmel
closely associated with the beginnings of the Oratory in
France ?

Surely all these reasons point you out for the delicate
task of depicting a life original in its extreme simplicity.
You are indeed in a position to understand it com-
pletely.

That the word “ original” will be disputed I have
no doubt. In the opinion of many, original is but a polite
word for eccentric.

Original it is, however, amongst all the lives of the
saints, because in it the development of the interior life is
not supported by a chain of external events of notable
importance or of actions capable of attracting attention.
What could be more disconcerting than this to the
historian who is merely an historian? ‘‘ Where shall
I begin—what facts are there to take hold of?” he
anxiously asks himself.

Neither are there in evidence those extraordinary
trials which call forth the special talent of the psychologist
or theologian. A“ little way of confidence and abandon-

LETTER-PREFACE Vii

ment ” lovingly followed for a few years under the
guidance of a very holy rule; that is all.

All, yes; but how priceless that a//! What consola-
tion is to be found therein for the thousands whose lives
are spent without events worthy of notice, but not without
trial and suffering. What consolation, what example,
and what comfort, too. What a blessing it is that the
lessons of such a life should be brought to light by a
master-hand.

Do not expect from me, dear Monseigneur, what is
called a letter of approbation for your work. It would
be of no advantage, and I would not presume to write
thus to you. I have allowed my admiration for the author
and for his undeniable talent to dictate these lines. This
is not, however, the only motive which has determined
me to write them, and to authorize their publication if
you judge proper.

The Rector of the Catholic Institute of Paris knows
that he owes a particular debt of recognition to St Thérése
de l’Enfant Jésus. He would hold himself ungrateful
if he did not seize every opportunity of proclaiming the
singular blessings, ‘‘ the shower of roses ”’ which, in times
of difficulty, the dear little saint has shed over the Uni-
versity he directs. He has experienced her immediate
protection, and even at the risk of astonishing certain
intellectuals, he will ever continue to proclaim the fact.

Likewise, he will meditate, and incite others to meditate,
on the lessons which the life of St Thérése directly holds
for “ intellectuals.”

The lesson of simplicity. I do not deny that there are
men of superior intelligence, accustomed to the highest
studies and most learned research, whose souls remain
as simple as that of a child in presence of religious truths.
In the measure that they remain simple before men,
are they so before God. ‘These, unfortunately, are
exceptions. The greater number esteem themselves too
great and too strong to submit their intelligence. Or,

Viil LETTER-PREFACE
on the other hand, they require so many arguments, and
place so many conditions, that they are never satisfied.
Let them turn their eyes to this sweet child, white and
straight as a lily, whose gaze is fixed peacefully on the
highest truths, where candour of soul brings with it light
to the understanding.

The lesson of faith amid trials to that faith. Whatever
the candour and good will of a soul, it is almost impossible
in a time like ours that a man who studies and thinks,
who by force of circumstances and the necessities of his
work finds himself confronted with many diverse systems,
is not at some time or other tried in his faith. God, then,
in His infinite wisdom ordained that this same child
should experience in the midst of severe physical sufferings
the anguish of this trial of faith, and that though living
in the very heart of the supernatural, she should feel
doubts about the reality of the supernatural. And
withal her faith never wavered, any more than that of
St Vincent de Paul when severely tempted in faith regard-
ing the Blessed Eucharist.

Lessons of confidence, too, in the ultimate effects,
distant perhaps, yet certain, of all work done for God.
How many times we have felt that we work in vain,
that we speak and write without result. Our work
remains obscure, or we appear to bear no fruit whatever.
And still we labour for God and our neighbour. Why,
then, such poor result ? Listen to little Sur Thérése.
When about to die at the age of twenty-four, she uttered
these astonishing words: “I feel that my mission is now
to begin.’’ God will choose the moment when He
will draw from our efforts the good He desires; nothing
that has been done for Him will be definitely lost.

Sometimes even glory, the glory so dear to those who
seek to influence the minds of men, will come abundantly.
And I speak not only of the glory which in heaven is
the fruit of grace, the crown of a saintly life. Is there,
humanly speaking, in the world today a glory equal to

LETTER-PREFACE 1x

that of our humble Carmelite? What name is more
frequently on men’s lips—what hero’s portrait has
been so rapidly multiplied, so widely scattered ?

Her renown carries the name of the little town in
which she lived to the ends of the earth. Beautiful
town of Lisieux, long appreciated by those who know it,
charmingly situated in the midst of rich and fragrant
valleys and tree-studded plains, possessed of the most
beautiful and artistic monuments in Normandy, its old
houses jealously preserved; astir, too, with industrial
activity, thus joining modern life to history without taking
away any of its beauty—what more was wanting to this
town? And yet, how few visited it, how few even
mentioned its name!

The name became united with that of Thérése, and
behold, Lisieux has become a world-city equal to the
most celebrated. As Teresa and Avila, Angela and
Foligno, Francis and Assisi, so Thérése and Lisieux have
become inseparable names. Pilgrims come in crowds,
and Lisieux takes its place for the centuries to come,
among the holy cities of the world.

May your book, dear Monseigneur, maintain and even
increase the glory of Thérése de l’Enfant Jésus here below;
may it multiply the number of souls eager for her powerful
intercession, and at the same time increase our love of
Him for whom she wished to live and die.

ALFRED BAUDRILLART,
Bishop of Himéria,
Member of the French Academy.

FOREWORD

N September 30, 1897, a young nun of twenty-four
died at the Carmel of Lisieux. Her life had been

so humble and so hidden that one of her com-
panions, seeing that she was fading away, wondered what
facts worthy of attention could be mentioned in the
death notice.

And soon afterwards, her poor coffin was taken to the
cemetery, accompanied by a few relatives.

Twenty-five years later, this almost unknown maiden
was proclaimed a wonder-worker as renowned as she was
bountiful, and her relics, raised to the altar, became the
object of tenderest homage and veneration.

After another interval of two years, on May 17, 1925,
in presence of more than 4,000 priests and 60,000 faithful,
the Sovereign Pontiff, Pius XI, placed the crowning
aureole on the forehead of the little nun of Lisieux.
Almost a million spectators, gathered in Rome from every
continent, standing there beneath the marvellous illumi-
nations of St Peter’s, hailed the young Carmelite in the
splendour of her canonization, and Thérése de 1|’Enfant
Jésus became the most popular saint in the world.

In face of this wonderful enthusiasm, this “‘ hurricane
of glory’! which has raised the name of a lowly nun
above all human renown, what can be said in her praise
that has not been surpassed a thousandfold, that would
not display miserable insufficiency ?

Thus I will guard against undertaking the eulogy of
the new saint after the solemn declarations of Pius X,
Benedict XV, and Pius XI on the sublime quality of

1 Expression of Pius XI in his address to the pilgrims of

Bayeux.
xi

xii FOREWORD

Thérése’s virtues, and the rare fruitfulness of her spiritual
doctrine.

The task is, however, comparatively easy to a biographer
who is solely desirous of following with exactitude the
unobtrusive events of this brief life, spent entirely in the
intimacy of her family and within the walls of an unknown
cloister.

These events are, besides, the substance of this super-
natural and resplendent life which the Church has just
glorified. To appreciate all its splendour, it will not be
out of place to show in their simplicity and in their
original setting, the daily actions which were its partial
source and habitual condition.

These have already been given with incomparable
charm in the Histoire d'une Ame, unequalled in its
admirable simplicity, enlightening doctrine, sweet and
impressive unction. Is not full satisfaction given in this
book, multiplied as it is in thousands of copies, to the
curiosity and devotion of all the admirers of “little
Therese ”’?

I had thought so at first; but more attentive examina-
tion of the book has shown me that several traits in the
saint’s character have been omitted by her, probably
through humility. These traits have been diligently
noted by her companions in religion, more especially by
those who were in a twofold manner her sisters here
below. These testimonies, duly recorded in the acts
of the different canonical processes, form two large
volumes, the examination of which has revealed to me
Thérése’s life, not only as seen by herself in the mirror
of her modesty, but viewed from the outside with an
unequalled keenness of perception and unerring judge-
ment.

Certain it is that the young saint did not reveal every-
thing. Yet how can one dare to undertake her
biography, even with the aid of additional information,
after her own heavenly-worded pages which in their

FOREWORD Xili

numberless translations have already revealed to the world
the exceptional beauty of her soul ?

Two motives have conquered my fears: the confidence
which the Rev. Mother Prioress of the Carmel of Lisieux,
the saint’s sister, has reposed in me by charging me with
a mission which will remain the great honour of my life,
and the desire to show my gratitude to “ little Thérése ”
who has given to my family and to me undeniable marks
of her protection.

Let me add that the fact of having been a member of
the pilgrimage to Rome which, in 1887, allowed Thérése
Martin to submit the question of her vocation to Leo XIII,
inspired in me a special attraction towards the young
Carmelite who was so eager to give herself to God.

At all events, I have tried to find motives for under-
taking a task which at first seemed rash.

Being incapable of producing anything to equal the
graceful pages of the Histoire d'une Ame, I have borrowed
Thérése’s own words whenever she has appeared to me
to give the events of her life in their fullness. I
have done this especially as regards her confidences
and effusions on the mysteries of divine love, of which
she speaks so faimiliarly with charming candour, but also
with a supernatural wisdom under the impulse of the
Holy Spirit.

Keeping to my role of biographer, I have avoided long
dissertations on the diverse stages of Thérése’s spirituality,
leaving this to other writers who, with more or less success,
have undertaken to study her progress towards sanctity
according to traditional classification.

For the details that are not in the Histoire d’une Ame,
and which consequently form my own contribution to the
work, I have scrupulously followed the testimony of the
nuns at the Carmel and other well-known persons
who were called to give evidence at the process of Beati-
fication.

Every page of my manuscript has been submitted to

xiv FOREWORD

the careful revision of noted theologians and to the three
Carmelite sisters of St Thérése de l’Enfant Jésus, so that
the work appears with the explicit stamp and approbation
of the most authoritative witnesses both as regards facts
and doctrine.

With this book will close, so far as I can judge, an
already long series of works consecrated to the glory of
many saints. In revealing her admirable and engaging
inner life, may it surround with new splendour the pleasing
figure of the maiden of Lisieux.

May dear little Thérése, on her part, shed around the
last years of her biographer a little of that peace-giving
joy which she has so frequently sown in earthly paths.
May her angelic smile console the last hour of a priest
devoted to the glory of her name; may her helping hand
lead him to the arms of God!

\

AUTHOR’S NOTE TO THIRD FRENCH
EDITION

TuirTy thousand copies of this book have been sold in
afew months. ‘This shows that the dear saint has visibly
blessed it, and that Providence has made use of it to benefit
numberless souls.

Further information which I have received for the
preparation of this third edition has enabled me to revise
carefully the text. I have also been able to insert at
the end of the book documents which fix certain family
events regarding the saint’s ancestors.

CONTENTS

PREFACE. LETTER TO MGR LAVEILLE FROM MGR BAU-

DRILLART . P ‘ 4 F 3

FOREWORD é 4 : . , :
CHAPTER I

ANCESTRAL ORIGIN—ALENCON—THE FATHER AND MOTHER

OF THERESE MARTIN ; _ ej :
CHAPTER II

EARLY INFANCY OF “‘ LITTLE THERESE” . s -
CHAPTER III

GROWING VIRTUE OF THERESE—HER FIRST GREAT TRIAL .
CHAPTER IV

LISIEUX—-LES BUISSONNETS < 3 : 5
CHAPTER V

THE BENEDICTINE CONVENT—STRANGE MALADY—FIRST
COMMUNION—SUDDEN SPIRITUAL TRANSFORMATION .

CHAPTER VI

VOCATION TO CARMEL—STRUGGLE AGAINST EXTERIOR
OBSTACLES WHICH RESTRAINED HER—JOURNEY TO
ITALY . . . . . .

CHAPTER VII

THE CARMEL OF LISIEUX—THERESE AS POSTULANT, AND HER
RECEPTION—TERRIBLE TRIAL—PROGRESS IN DETACH-
MENT 7 : ‘ : “ :

CHAPTER VIII

PROFESSION—-APPARENT SEVERITY OF GOD, AND THE DIS-
INTERESTED LOVE OF HIS SERVANT—GRACIOUS GIFT
OF JESUS TO THERESE—POETRY OF THE YOUNG CARME-
LITE—CORRESPONDENCE ON SPIRITUAL MATTERS—
CELINE’S ENTRANCE } , ; ‘

XV

76

98

130

172

203

xvi CONTENTS

CHAPTER IX

INTERIOR LIFE AT THE CARMEL—DIVINE LOVE THE SOURCE
OF ALL THERESE’S PERFECTION—QUALITIES OF THIS
LOVE AND ITS PRINCIPAL MANIFESTATIONS—THERESE’S
DEVOTION TO THE BLESSED VIRGIN AND THE SAINTS .

CHAPTER X

CHARITY OF ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS TOWARDS HER
NEIGHBOUR—HER DEVOTION TO THE NOVICES UNDER
HER DIRECTION—HER SPIRITUAL HELP TO TWO
MISSIONARIES : 3 : : 2

CHAPTER XI

SUFFERING’S ROLE IN THE PROVIDENCE OF GOD DISCERNED
AND INTERPRETED BY THERESE—HER PERFECT PRACTICE
OF MONASTIC VIRTUES PROPERLY SO CALLED: POVERTY,
CHASTITY AND OBEDIENCE—HER LOVE OF THE CROSS
THE CONDITION AND CONSEQUENCE OF HER LOVE FOR
JESUS ; 2 : . ‘ :

CHAPTER XII

IDEA, ADVANTAGES AND NECESSITY OF THE “LITTLE WAY
OF SPIRITUAL CHILDHOOD ”’ . .

CHAPTER XIII

THE VIRTUES OF THE “ LITTLE WAY ”’ IN PRACTICE: HUMILITY,
SIMPLICITY, SPIRITUAL POVERTY, CONFIDENCE—
THERESE’S CONSECRATION TO MERCIFUL LOVE AND ITS
EFFECT ON HER LIFE :

CHAPTER XIV

BEGINNING OF HER ILLNESS—THE ‘‘ HISTOIRE D’UNE AME ?—

THE ‘‘ NOVISSIMA VERBA ”’—END OF EXILE—FUNERAL
CEREMONIES °

CHAPTER XV

FIRST PHASES OF HER GLORIFICATION—CONTINUOUS ‘“‘ RAIN

OF ROSES ”—SCEUR THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS RAISED
TO THE ALTAR :

. . . .

APPENDIX .

PAGE

233

253

286

302

319

344

381

428

ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT
JESUS

CHAPTER ‘I

ANCESTRAL ORIGIN—ALENCON—THE FATHER AND MOTHER
OF THERESE MARTIN

her father’s side came originally from Athis-de-

l’Orne, a borough of some importance situated in
the Domfront district. As far back as the sixteenth
century we find agriculturists here named Martin, but
authentic record of “ little Thérése’s ” parentage dates
from April 2, 1692. On this day was baptized in the
church of Athis a child named John Martin. Of a
lineal descendant of this John Martin was born a son,
who was baptized in the same church, April 16, 1777,
and received the name Pierre-Francois.

This child was later to be the grandfather of the
glorious Carmelite whose life-story we are about to
narrate. In him we recognize the head of that saintly
family from which she has come; to his influence may be
attributed in no small measure her eminent and highly
developed virtues.

os bave ancestors of St Thérése de |’Enfant Jésus on

At the period of their son’s baptism the parents of
Pierre-Francgois Martin lived near the church of Athis*
in the house at present occupied by registration officials

1 For the paternal ancestors of the saint see the booklet
Athis-de l’Orne and Blessed Thérése de l Enfant Fésus, by M.
VAbbé Madeline of Athis-de l’?Orne (Flers-de-l’Orne, Im-

primerie Catholique).
I

2 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

and the sacristan. Afterwards they moved to a more
completely rural dwelling, the “ Quentiniére.”” From
here, as it would seem, Pierre-Francois set out for Alengon
for his first military training.

The military expeditions of the Empire soon accus-
tomed him to war, and he acquitted himself so well
that we find him in 1823 captain in the rgth Light
Infantry garrisoned at Bordeaux.’ Here, in an old house
in the rue Servandoni, on August 22, his wife, Marie-
Anne-Fannie Boureau, gave him a son, who was baptized
Louis-Joseph-Aloys-Stanislas, and was third of a family
of five children.?

The brave officer was absent from home at this time,
his company taking part, apparently, in the expedition
to Spain led by the Duke of Angouléme with purpose
of re-establishing the throne of Ferdinand VII.

The child was baptized privately, and weeks of waiting
for the father’s return followed. But he was not to
return to Bordeaux until November. It was decided,
therefore, that the solemn baptism should not be
deferred so long, and on October 28, 1823, the cere-
mony was performed in the church of Saint Eulalie
by the Abbé Martegoute, chaplain of the prisons in
that city.

The saintly Archbishop of Bordeaux, Mgr d’Aviau
du Bois de Sanzay, attested in writing (January 14, 1824)

1 In the Appendix at the end of this book may be read the
particulars of Captain Martin’s military service, and copies of a
certain number of documentary records (certificates of baptism
and marriage) concerning the ancestors of the saint.

* M. Louis Martin, father of Thérése, had one brother
Pierre, early destined for the navy, but he was lost in a ship-
wreck while still young.

He had also an elder sister, Marie, who married, but died
in her twenty-sixth year, 1846.

‘Two sisters were born after him : Frangoise—in English, Fanny
—who, after her marriage, died in 1853, aged twenty-seven; and
Sophie the godchild and favourite sister of Louis, who died at
the age of nine years.

ANCESTRAL ORIGIN 3

to the authenticity of the certificate of baptism. It was
probably on this occasion that he said to the parents:
“Rejoice, for this child is one of the predestined !”
This prophetic vision vouchsafed to the virtuous
Archbishop was truly to be fulfilled in the life then
opening.

Captain Martin was himself one of the most powerful
instruments of divine grace in the training of his son;
from the beginning he set himself to infuse into this
youthful mind his own deep faith and ardent piety. As
far as his public duties permitted he watched over the
education of Louis, took care to have him thoroughly
instructed in religious truths, and made him also com-
mence his classical studies.

At length the hour of retreat sounded for the brave
soldier. Bearing with him the esteem of his superior
officers, decorated with the Cross of Saint Louis, which
he had obtained at the age of forty-seven during the
Spanish campaign,? Captain Martin left Bordeaux for
his native district, there to seek a well-earned repose

1 The following is a copy of the register of baptism: “‘ In
the year One thousand eight hundred and twenty-three on the
twenty-eighth of October, has been baptized by me, priest,
undersigned, Louis-Joseph-Aloys-Stanislas Martin, born the
twenty-third of the month of August last, legitimate son of
sieur Pierre-Francgois Martin, Captain in the Nineteenth Light
Infantry, and of dame Marie-Anne-Fanny Boureau his wife,
living at No. 3, rue Servandoni. He had for godfather Léonce
de Lamothe, and for godmother Ernestine Beyssac who have
signed with me

“*Jn-Ant. Martegoute, priest, de licentia parochi.
Léonce de Lamothe;
Ernestine Beyssac, Jules Guibre.
Fanie Martin, née Boureau.
Copy conformable to the original:
Jaure, Curé de Sainte-Eulalie.

Followed by the attestation of Mgr d’Aviau.
2 This decoration was conferred on him by Charles X
August 20, 1824.

4 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

and to provide for the future of his children. With
this end in view, instead of returning to the little house
at Athis where his parents had lived, he went to Alengon,
drawn thither by the more favourable resources of educa-
tion offered in that town. From henceforth his life was
to be one long series of charitable works and saintly
example.

From Alencon the old soldier, accompanied by his
children, went sometimes to Athis to visit the cousins
and other relatives who remained in the old homes.
Young Louis delighted in these visits to country homes
where the service of God predominated over every other
thought. It was time, however, to consider his future
career. The army was not without attraction for the son
of Captain Martin, but what seemed to be a chance
occurrence was to lead him to more peaceable occupations.
In the town of Rennes Captain Martin had cousins,
watchmakers by trade. During a visit there Louis
discovered his taste for this profession, and began to
learn it merely as an amateur. During his sojourn in
Rennes he received from his parents letters which show
the character of the people of Normandy ennobled by
the ancient faith. From his mother, a daughter of this
rural district so attached to Catholic practices, he received
the following letter on August 25, 1842:

“What a joy it would be to me, my dear Louis, to offer
you in person my heartiest and best wishes. Yet we must
bear the crosses which God sends us, and thank him every
day for the favours he has bestowed. I felt that he
conferred a great blessing on me when I saw you for the
first time in your Breton costume, your young heart filled
with enthusiasm. ... With what joy I pressed you
to my heart, for you, dear son, are the dream of my nights
and the constant subject of my thoughts.

* It was, however, at Strasbourg, where he was on the staff,
that his discharge was definitely granted him in 1830.

ANCESTRAL ORIGIN 5

“How many times do I not think of you when my
soul, in prayer, follows the leading of my heart and darts
up even to the foot of the divine throne. There, I pray
with all the fervour of my soul that God may bestow
on my children the interior happiness and calm which are
so necessary in this turbulent world.”

Then this true Christian, in her fear of the pernicious
effects of youthful presumption in her son, adds: ‘ Re-
main always humble, dear son.’’!

In Strasbourg dwelt another friend of the Martin
family, also engaged in the clockmaker’s business.
Drawn to this city by the wish to be near one of his
father’s old comrades, Louis still continued the delicate
work to which he had commenced his apprenticeship.
This gave him an opportunity of closely examining the
mechanism of the celebrated cathedral clock which
aroused his admiration. Gradually he found growing
within him an attraction for this work, which requires

1 Unpublished letter in family archives. The letter written
by his father to Louis on this occasion exhibits even more
clearly the same Christian spirit. We give it as a novel and
unique example of the type of family correspondence in
Normandy at that period:

“May God be for ever glorified and loved above all
things !

“My DEAR SON,

“ On behalf of your sisters Fanny and Sophie and all the
family, I wish you a happy feast, in honour of your blessed
patron, who is also my own as a Knight of Saint Louis, and to
whom JI have and will ever have devotion. The bouquet which
we are sending is a gift from your sister and godchild, Sophie.
We should like to offer you in person our heartiest wishes, and
clink glasses in sprinkling the bouquet; but let us make this
sacrifice, since it is the will of the Master.

“We are, thank God, enjoying good health. I hope you also
are equally blessed. In conclusion, my dear Louis, I give you
with all my heart the kiss of friendship for myself and all the
family.”

6 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

in addition to skilled hands so much application and taste.
But Louis had higher aspirations than the study of an
earthly career.

He had progressed in the practice of prayer and the
frequent use of the Sacraments. Under this influence
his thoughts no less than his love tended towards the
joys of heaven. The beauty of creation, especially as
shown in its varied aspects in the land of Normandy,
filled him with delight, and was to him a mirror in which
he contemplated the divine Creator. At the sight of the
flashing dawn or the waning sunset his handsome and
clear-cut face reflected in turn his gladness in the beauty
of the divine plan, or his sadness at parting with things
which must pass with the day.

He had reached his twentieth year when he reflected,
with faith already supported by experience, that beyond
all passing earthly splendour is the light of an eternal
day which shines for those happy beings who contem-
plate the divine beauty. He realized that this great joy
must be won by toil on earth, realized too that the surest
way towards possession of the eternal reward of the
invisible world is voluntary renunciation of the fleeting
though alluring shadows which claim our attention here
below. We find this youth, then, on a morning in
September, 1843, slowly climbing up the slopes of
Mount St Bernard, gazing with wondering eyes at the
majestic peaks above. He had travelled across France,
partly on foot, partly by stage-coach, to seek at the
Monastery hidden here amid the snows the secret of his
vocation.

As he climbed upward, the wonderful stillness, the
peaceful aspect of the wide spaces around, formed a
powerful attraction towards this holy solitude, where he
hoped to find, in familiar and daily communion with the
Holy of Holies, that blessed peace for which his soul
thirsted. On the threshold of life, with a realization of

ANCESTRAL ORIGIN 7

the storms that would beset him, he already said with the
Prophet at sight of the city which was to shelter him:
“* Haec requies mea in saeculum saeculi,’’*

Louis Martin was received by the Superior of the
Augustinian Monks with that kindliness and sweetness
which instinctively opened all hearts. The Prior knew
immediately that this clear-countenanced youth had not
come merely for a night’s shelter. His desire was to
shield his innocence there till death, to devote his life,
in accordance with the object for which the Monastery
was founded, to the rescue of unfortunate travellers
buried in the mountain gorges beneath the snow, or frozen
by the glacial blast.

An attraction towards solitude, or the desire to be im-
molated in the service of others, is not always a sure mark
of religious vocation. ‘The postulant must have already
received the remote preparation which would fit him
for the functions of the Order to which he seeks admission.
Thus the Prior set himself immediately to find out the
capabilities of his young visitor.

“‘ Have you finished your Latin studies, my son ?”

Louis replied in the negative.

“TI am sorry,” said the Prior, “ for it is an essential
condition for admission to our brotherhood. But be not
discouraged. Return to Normandy, work diligently, and
when you have completed your humanities, we will
gladly admit you to our Novitiate.’’?

Sad at heart, the pilgrim returned down the steeps
of the glaciers, like a traveller who has been driven back
into exile from the shores of his native land.

Would Captain Martin’s means allow him to incur the
expense of his son’s classical studies? A loyal effort
was made; Louis set himself earnestly to the study of
Latin under the Curé of St Leonard of Alengon. But
illness soon compelled him to lay aside his books, and he

1 “This is my resting-place for ever and ever,” Ps. cxxxi 14.
2 See Histoire d’une Ame: Introduction.

8 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

decided finally to return to the watchmaker’s workshop.
After some time in Paris, where in all probability he
completed his apprenticeship, he returned to the little
town in Normandy made dear to him by family ties.
Here he lived with his parents in the rue du Pont-Neuf,
dividing his time between work, prayer, and some suitable
distractions, in which he was joined by a few chosen
friends, devoted like himself to works of charity.

In this way he lived until his thirty-fifth year, thinking
still perhaps of the monastic life; at all events manifesting
no desire to enter the married state, although his mother
wished him to marry.

About this time a young daughter of Normandy,
Zélie Guérin, born at Saint Denis-sur-Sarthon (Orne),
presented herself at the Hoétel-Dieu of Alengon, directed
by the Sisters of Saint Vincent de Paul. She belonged
to one of the most religious families of the district. Her
forefathers had given asylum to the clergy during the
Revolution, and her own father was familiar in his child-
hood days with the ruses employed to evade the enraged
pursuers of his uncle, a priest whom they had concealed
in their house. Later, this child, having come to man’s
estate, was to take his part, like Pierre-Francgois Martin,
in the military campaigns of the Empire, was afterwards
to serve as a gendarme, and then to retire to Alencon
after forty years of military service.

1 Below is a résumé of the military service of M. Isidore
Guérin, maternal grandparent of Thérése Martin. Born at
Saint Martin l’Aiguillon (Orne) July 6, 1789, he entered the
army on June 6, 1809, and went through his first military training
at Wagram. Some months later he was in the Oudinot
Division. He remained there after the defeat of Vittoria until
the battle of Toulouse, and on the fall of the Empire returned
home. He entered the foot gendarmerie, October 1, 1816, and
passed into the mounted gendarmerie, June 1, 1823. He served
first in the Compagnie de la Vendée; then, from February 23
1827, in the Compagnie de l’Orne (2nd Legion) at Saint Denis
sur-Sarthon (Orne). On September 10, 1844, he left the

ANCESTRAL ORIGIN 9

He had three children: an elder daughter, Marie
Louise, who died, a Visitation nun, at Le Mans; Zélie,
with whom we shall be largely concerned in the course
of our narrative; and a son, Isidore, who early gave signs
of his attraction to the medical profession.

As pupil of the Dames de l’Adoration at Alencon,
Zélie Guérin had received a careful education, as attested
by her numerous successes in study; she had also been
formed there to true piety, and desired to serve God in
the person of His poor. She confided her wishes to the
Superioress of the Hétel-Dieu, who declared unhesi-
tatingly that God had other designs for Zélie than the
religious life.

Disappointed, but sustained by faith, the young girl
remained with her brother, sister, and parents, to await
the decision of Providence regarding her future.

Her father, in 1843, had purchased a comfortable
house, No. 42, rue Saint Blaise, where later he lived
with his children. But the expenses consequent on the
education of his son and daughters had made consider-
able inroads on the pension of the old soldier. Zélie,
understanding that she was destined for the married
state, felt that she must increase her dowry in order to
meet the calls of her future life. She was in considerable
anxiety as to the means of so doing, when, on December 8,
1851, Feast of the Immaculate Conception, she was
suddenly interrupted in the midst of an absorbing work
Which excluded all freaks of the imagination. An
interior voice seemed to give her this command: ‘‘ Have
Alengon point lace made.’”! 'This was the reply given

service finally to retire to Alencon, where he died September 3,
1868. (Taken from the Archives of the Guérin family and the
Archives of the Ministry of War.)

1 The “ point d’Alencon ” is manufactured from hand-spun
and twisted linen thread, exceptionally fine and consequently
very costly. These laces are composed of pieces measuring
from twenty to thirty centimetres joined together by im-

10 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

by the Blessed Virgin to the anxious doubts which Zélie
had confided to her.

The world-wide appreciation of this beautiful lace, the
one kind in France worked entirely with the needle,
is well known. Zélie Guérin studied the different
processes of the manufacture, specialized in the assem-
blage of the pieces already prepared, and finally placed
herself at the head of one of those enterprises for the
production of that light and delicate lace destined to
complete the richest attire in the land. Her employées
worked in their own homes, whilst she took charge of the
orders, supplied the designs, and carefully watched over
the execution of the work. Soon the lace which she
produced was classed amongst the most beautiful;
500 francs a metre was a not unusual price for her work,
so that the profits soon grew into a capital of some im-
portance.

Isidore Guérin, Zélie’s father, lived at a short distance
from the Church of Notre-Dame, and Captain Martin
with his wife and son had at this time, as we know,
a house in rue du Pont Neuf in the parish of Saint
Pierre de Montsort.

Active, industrious, with a skilful hand, and a finely
developed artistic taste, Louis Martin promised fair
to become an expert in his profession; he had thoughts
also of joining the lucrative business of jeweller to his
trade of watchmaker. No acquaintanceship had as yet
sprung up between the two families. Immersed in her
daily task, Zélie Guérin satisfied herself with a petition
to Providence to give her a worthy husband, Catholic
not only in name, but in practice. She had asked God
too, with profound faith, to bless her future union with

perceptible stitches, At Alengon the industry was started
under the administration of Colbert about 1664, that Minister

having brought from Venice thirty skilled workers with this
object in view.

ANCESTRAL ORIGIN II

many children, who might all be in some way conse-
crated to His service.

One day as she was crossing the bridge of Saint
Leonard she met a young man, whose dignified and
distinguished demeanour claimed her attention in a
remarkable manner. She did not know him, but an
interior voice made manifest to her once more the provi-
dence of God watching over her life: ‘‘ This is he whom I
have prepared for thee.”” Those words led to the two
lives being drawn together; and they were indissolubly
united on July 13, 1858, in the Church of Notre-Dame
at Alencon.

According to family records, the young husband, think-
ing, as many saints had done, to join to the blessing of
Christian marriage the honour of continence, expressed
this wish to his wife on the evening of their marriage.
He was, without knowing it, going against what she felt
to be God’s design for her. Having learned this after a
year, Louis renounced his plan of special perfection, and
the young couple lived in conjugal fidelity, in perfect
union of heart and will.

They had established themselves in the rue du Pont
Neuf. The watchmaking, to which Louis had now
joined the sale of jewellery, added to the Alencon point
lace manufacture, proved a considerable source of income
to the family. They set earnestly to work; reliable
customers came in numbers; the future seemed assured.

The newly-married pair realized every day more and
more the blessing of mutual charity. Endowed with a
practical mind, with rare gifts of energy and untiring
activity, Mme Martin was above all remarkable for her
wonderful spirit of faith. One sole object dominated
and directed her life. She could in all truth make this
maxim of St Fran¢oise d’Amboise her own: “So act
that in all things God be loved above all.”

Louis, with perhaps a calmer disposition, his taste for

12 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

religious communion with nature, his love for the poetry
of light and shade ever varying with the mists of his
homeland, was a model of that patient and active charity
which lends so much charm and happiness to life in
common. On one occasion he was seen to raise up a
drunken man from the thronged street where he had
fallen, then, without the slightest regard for human
respect, take his box of tools, give him the support of his
arm, and with gentle but firm admonition conduct him
to his home. Again, one day at a railway station, having
come across a poor victim of epilepsy dying with hunger
and without sufficient money to take him back to his own
village, the young man took off his hat, and, placing
therein the first alms himself, went round to all the
passengers for money to enable the poor sufferer to
reach his home.

In the service of God, more especially in devotion to
Jesus in the Tabernacle, did the intimate union of the
newly-married couple find its full expression. M. and
Mme Martin attended Mass every morning at half-past
five; they knelt together at the Holy Table; and although
very frequent communion was not yet in vogue in the
French parishes, they endeavoured to receive the Holy
Eucharist more frequently than every Sunday.

Despite the fatiguing duties of the household and the
absorbing labour of the husband’s daily business, at a
time too when the spirit of mortification was growing
weak in the better class families, they observed to the
letter the fasts and abstinence of the Church. Another
practice of renunciation must have proved very meri-
torious for them. It was customary at that time amongst
the young country folk to come to Alencon every Sunday
to make their purchases or on pleasure bent. The
jewellers’ windows formed the chief attraction for the
gentler sex. When a marriage was in view their fiancés
were liberal in the purchase of rings, trinkets, ear-rings,
and the other ornaments so much appreciated, especially

ANCESTRAL ORIGIN 13

by village folk. But when the intending purchasers
came to Louis Martin’s establishment on Sunday they
found the door closed; all business was suspended here
out of respect for the Lord’s day. This line of action
entailed considerable loss for the young man. Some of
his friends counselled a less rigorous practice which would
not at the same time militate against the day of rest:

“* Leave the side-door at least open; in this way your
shop will to all appearances remain closed, while pur-
chasers can come in quietly and you will not lose good
sales.”

“TI prefer,” replied Louis, ‘‘to draw down on my
house the blessing of God.”

This spirit of faith so openly manifested showed itself
in a still more touching way in the quiet of the home.
They prayed in common, endeavouring to put into the
prayer addressed to God the Father the fervour of Captain
Martin, whose accents as he recited the Our Father
moved others to tears.

A habitual practice in the household was the study of
the Lives of the Saints, in whom they recognized a
spiritual brotherhood.

One day, as the young wife read the life of Madame
Acarie, who, after giving all her daughters to Carmel,
consecrated herself also to God in the religious life, she
exclaimed : “ All her daughters Carmelites! Is it possible
that a mother may have so great an honour ?”!

With these thoughts in her heart she was glad to see
her husband take his place each succeeding month at the
nocturnal Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. When-
ever she accompanied him on a walk into the country,
her greatest joy was to turn with him into some quiet
church, where, in his devotion, he would prostrate before
a tabernacle too often abandoned.

Absorbed in his business, Louis Martin allowed him-

1 Apostolic Process of Beatification and Canonization—
Deposition of Rev. Mére Agnés de Jésus.

14 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

self from time to time one little recreation. He loved
fishing, and often plied the hook along the Sarthe,
whiling away a few hours in the charm of horizons veiled
in blue mists. In this, as in other things, he wished
that honest recreation should be seasoned with charity;
eel and trout were sent for the most part to the Monastery
of the Poor Clares at Alencon.

Following the example of her husband, Mme Martin
was always ready to relieve misery and suffering. A
servant in the household fell ill with a very painful attack
of articular rheumatism. Her parents were poor and
could not procure for her the proper treatment. The
mistress devoted herself to the servant night and day
until she was completely cured. At another time,
Mme Martin was compelled to appear before a magis-
trate in consequence of her endeavours to rescue a
child from the maltreatment of two evil old women,
who had taken charge of her education, but who were
exploiting her in a shameful manner.

What, then, was wanting to these true Christians save
to be enabled to transmit their own virtues to a numerous
posterity ? God gave a grand answer to the prayer of
His servants; in a few years nine children were born to
them.

They wished that each child from its entrance into the
world should be consecrated to the Queen of heaven by
receiving the name of Marie, and in time Marie-Louise,
Marie-Pauline, Marie-Léonie, and Marie-Héléne, came
to increase the joy of the home.

The parents, in their desire to multiply here below the
noble works of their family, sought from God, by the
intercession of St Joseph, ‘a little missionary.”

They believed that their prayer was heard when to

1 Unpublished letter of Mme Martin to her daughters Marie

and Pauline, January 17, 1875: Archives of the Carmel of
Lisieux.

ANCESTRAL ORIGIN 15

the little daughters who filled the house with laughter
and song was added a baby brother, who received the
names of Marie-Joseph-Louis. Alas! scarce had he
learned to smile at his mother, when, five months after
his birth, he departed from this earth to intercede amid
the angels for his parents and sisters.

Supplications and novenas were renewed with re-
doubled fervour; a priest, a child who would be a “ great
saint,” was the goal of all their desires. Another little
cherub seemed sent as an answer from above, but eight
months later he too, Marie-Joseph-Jean-Baptiste, de-
parted, to fulfil in heaven the mission that God saw fit
to deny him in this world.

With this second cross, they understood that ‘ the
thoughts of the Lord are not our thoughts, His ways
are not our ways.’ And they ceased their supplica-
tions for a missionary. But who, considering the lives
of the remaining children of Louis Martin, would have
the hardihood to say that God had rejected his petition ?

The two elder daughters were now old enough for
school. Mme Martin considered that she could not
do better than confide them to the care of her saintly
sister, the Visitation nun, so Marie-Louise and Marie-
Pauline were sent as boarders to the convent at Le Mans.

In order to meet the additional expense of educating
her children and provide generally for her growing
family, the courageous mother resolved to apply herself
with renewed energy to the development of her lace
industry. She accepted large orders, devoted long hours
to the training of her workers, attended personally to
the extensive commercial correspondence entailed, and
brought to her artistic work so much activity and good
taste that in a short time the renown and extent of her
enterprise had greatly increased.

Such a life of activity left little time for recreation or
rest. Mme Martin made a virtue of necessity. “ Truth

1 Isa. v 8.

16 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

to tell,” she wrote, ‘‘ I seek no other recreation than to
sit at my window putting together the pieces of my
‘ Point d’Alengon.’’”!

In spite of all preoccupations her greatest joy was
in her family life; it was, in fact, her one joy on earth,
and she endeavoured to fulfil every duty to her children
with characteristic simplicity, devotion, and good-will.

She had, as we know, one brother, Isidore Guérin,
who, before he became the exemplary Catholic that we
find him later, had been, as a young medical student,
drawn to the dissipations of Paris life. We find his
sister addressing to him at the time letters such as these:

‘““T am, my dear brother, greatly disquieted on your
account. My husband constantly speaks to me with
apprehension concerning you. He is well acquainted
with Paris, and says that you will be surrounded by
temptations which you will not resist because you are not
sufficiently grounded in piety. He has given me an
account of some of his own experiences, and shown me
what courage is required to come out victorious. If
you but knew through what trials he has passed! I
beseech you, my dear Isidore, to act as he acted, be
fervent in prayer, and you will not be carried away by
the torrent. If you go under once you are lost. It is
but the first step that costs on the road to evil as on the
path to virtue; afterwards you will be carried on by the
current.

“If you agree to do one thing which I am going to ask
of you, and which you might well be willing to give me
as a New Year’s gift, I shall be happier than if you gave
me all Paris. You live quite near Notre-Dame-des-
Victoires. Well! make a little visit there even once a
day to say a Hail Mary to the Blessed Virgin. You will
find that she will protect you in a special manner, she
will give you success in this world and eternal happiness

1 Unpublished letter to her sister-in-law, September 28, 1872.

ANCESTRAL ORIGIN 17

in the world beyond. ‘Think not that my words to you
come from exaggerated piety without solid foundation;
I have reason for confidence in Mary; I have received
from her favours known only to myself. . . . You know
well that life is very short. In a few brief years you and
I will have reached the end; how happy we shall then
be if our life has not tended to make our last hours
bitter.”"4

The youth profited so much by this advice that he
became soon afterwards one of the most practical and
devoted Catholics of his time. He set up in business as
a chemist in the town of Lisieux, and married a pious
young girl, Mlle Fournet. From this time onward a
close friendship sprang up between Mme Martin and the
newly-married couple. At their house in Lisieux she
spent in company with her children the few holidays which
she allowed herself. To her sister-in-law were addressed
for the most part those simple yet typical letters wherein
she traces such charming pictures of the home-life, or
gives expression to supernatural hope in the midst of
tears and trials; letters which her family has faithfully
preserved, and which are to us so invaluable a treasure
in compiling the biography of “ little Thérése.”

Neither did Mme Martin forget that, as elder sister,
she had certain moral duties to her brother. Here is a
novel example of her manner of persuasion.

An old pair, of the rich and egoistic type, had just
built a costly house at Alencon. At the prospect of soon
enjoying this grand dwelling, the wife exclaimed: ‘‘ Oh,
how happy I am! Nothing is wanting to me; I have
health and fortune, can procure everything I wish; I
have no children to disturb my peace; indeed, I know of
no one so well off as I am.”

1 Unpublished letter of January 1, 1863. Some of the above
lines contain an allusion to the supernatural counsel which she
received on December 8, 1851, to undertake the manufacture
of point d’Alenc¢on.

2

18 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

Mme Martin made the following comment to her
brother on hearing the remarks of this lady:

“‘T have always heard, ‘ Unfortunate, thrice un-
fortunate, is the person who can speak thus.’ And,
my dear friend, I am so convinced of this truth that, at
certain periods of my life, when I had that feeling of
happiness, I could only dwell on it with fear and trembling,
for experience has shown beyond doubt that true happiness
does not exist here below; its semblance may perchance
appear on earth, but it is the herald of misfortune. I
have noticed it myself. No, happiness cannot be found
here; good fortune carries with it a danger-signal. God,
in His wisdom, has so ordained our life that we may
never forget that this earth is not our true home.’’!

In confirmation of this seemingly rigid teaching, she
gives a striking example. She tells of this old couple
walking one evening through their new garden, at the
end of which a deep trench had just been dug, and was
left unprotected save for a few planks. In the growing
darkness the husband and wife stepped on one of these
slender planks, and both were dashed into the pit beneath,
crushed and injured.

Oftentimes, however, these more serious lessons give
place to an account of some little incident in lighter vein.
Now it is a story of the children’s pranks as they romp
around the table where the lace is being prepared, now
the repetition of some ingenuous question or remark
which shows already the bent of their character; often,
too, comes the expression of deep intense gratitude for
these treasures that Heaven has entrusted to her.

She had just put her baby, Héléne, under the care of a
nurse, and in a letter to her brother she gives naive ex-
pression to her feelings. “ I went to see her a fortnight
ago. I think I never experienced a greater joy than when
I took her in my arms; she smiled at me so sweetly that
I thought I was looking at an angel. I cannot express

+ Unpublished letter to her brother, March 28, 1864.

ANCESTRAL ORIGIN 19

what I felt. Never, I think, was seen, never will be seen
a child so charming. My little Héléne, when shall I
have the happiness of possessing her fully? I cannot
realize that I have the honour of being the mother of so
beautiful a little creature.’’!

Alas ! this cherished child was destined to leave, five
years later, her mother’s arms for ever. How deeply
this would wound that loving heart the foregoing lines
reveal.?

In the meantime a poignant sorrow, the prelude of
many another, now came to Mme Martin. Captain
Martin, her husband’s father, who was in his eighty-ninth
year, was lingering between death and life. On June 27,
1865, she wrote to her brother:

“My father-in-law died yesterday at one in the after-
noon. He received the last Sacraments on Thursday.
He died like a saint; as was his life, so,also,hisdeath. I
would never have believed that it could have such an
effect on me; I feel it most deeply.”*

She was destined to become familiar with the sight of
death. In the course of the next few years two sons were
born, and were quickly taken to heaven; then she had the
sorrow of losing her own father, from whom she had
never been parted.

On September 3, 1868, she wrote to her sister-in-law:
“If you had but witnessed his holy death! I cherish
the hope, I have even the certitude, that my dear father
has been favourably received by God. May my death
be like to his! We have already had three Masses said
for him, and intend to have many more, so that he may
be speedily delivered from purgatory if anything yet
remains to be atoned for. His tomb will be quite close

1 Unpublished letter, April 23, 1865.

2 Little Héléne died of consumption February 22, 1870, at
the age of five.

3 Unpublished letter.

20 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

to that of my two little Josephs.” And on November 1
of the same year, writing to her brother: “ If the good
God hears my prayer, He will admit him this very day
to paradise. Poor father! He was not accustomed to
suffer. For myself I do not fear purgatory; to suffer
seems quite natural to me. If God so willed, I would
at once agree to expiate his purgatory and my own, so
desirous am I that he should be happy.’’?

Added to this sorrow was disquietude caused by the
frail constitution of her daughter Léonie, and the con-
sequent difficulties regarding her education.

This valiant woman, who in spite of her delicate
sensitiveness had gone through such trials with fortitude,
whom sorrow had strengthened rather than vanquished,
could endure without flinching the thousand little annoy-
ances which add weight to the burden of daily life.

But to her cares as mother, wife, and mistress of a
household, were added fears regarding the health of her
sister, the Visitation nun, now threatened with phthisis.
She dreaded the loss of this sister all the more because
her two daughters Marie and Pauline were making
wonderful progress under her charge, and their growing
virtue was her greatest consolation amid crosses and
vexations.

The gentle and reserved nature of Marie concealed, as
is usual in timid people, a depth of tenderness which
only required expansion to bring out its true worth.

The gracious and prepossessing disposition of Pauline,
and her natural bent for learning, made her, notwithstand-
ing her exuberant disposition, the joy of her teachers.

More especially after her father’s death did Mme
Martin appreciate these happy traits of character in her
children; their lovable qualities proved a wonderful
solace to her in her sorrows.

Marie was asked to offer the pain of a dental operation
for the soul of her grandfather: “ This morning at eight

1 Unpublished letter. 2 Ibid,

ANCESTRAL ORIGIN 21

o’clock,”’ writes Mme Martin, “I took her to the dentist.
She asked me if her suffering would really help ‘ the poor
papa.’ On my answering in the affirmative, she never
uttered a word; in fact, the dentist told me he had never
seen a child so brave.”’ After a fresh examination, when
the operation was declared unnecessary, she said to her
mother: “‘ What a pity! the poor papa would no longer have
been in purgatory.””?

Thus, in return for the pious education given to her
children, this Christian mother tasted, even in the midst
of hard trials, the consolations of faith. God willed to
brighten with a few flowers the rough path which she
trod, for, ere the end of the way be reached, more thorns
still would there be to harass and afflict her.

On February 23 came the death of her fourth child,
little Marie-Héléne. From the monastery of Le Mans
her sister wrote: “ I cannot help considering you fortunate
in giving to heaven these innocent souls who, later, will
be your joy and your crown. Your faith and never-
failing confidence will then receive a magnificent recom-
pense. ... Rest assured that the Saviour will bless you;
your joy hereafter will be according to the measure of the
consolations refused you now; for if God, accepting your
sacrifice, wills to give you this great saint whom you have
so much desired for His glory,’ will you not then be well
repaid ?’’?

These last lines would seem to contain a presentiment
of the future. The admonition of the good religious was
hardly necessary in the case of Mme Martin, for we find
her, shortly afterwards, writing to her sister-in-law at
Lisieux, who had received a similar cross: ‘“‘ When I

1 Unpublished letter to her brother and her sister-in-law,
January 1869.

2 An allusion to the prayers of the Martin family to obtain
from God a “‘ little missionary,” or at least a son who would do
great things for the extension of God’s kingdom on earth.

3 Unpublished letter of February 23, 1870.

22 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

closed the eyes of my dear little children, when I laid them
in the grave, my grief, though great, was always resigned.
I never regretted the pain and anxiety I had endured
for their sake. Everyone said: ‘ Better they had never
been born.’ I could not agree to this view. I realize
that my pain and anxiety cannot be compared to the
eternal happiness of my dear children. ‘They are not
lost to me for ever. Life is short and full of sorrow;
we shall meet again in heaven.”

These and similar reflections were communicated to
Sister Marie Dosithée, the fervent Visitandine, who, at
the thought of such great spiritual strength in a life so
sorely crossed, thus pays homage to the virtue of Mme
Martin: “‘ I have fears,”’ she wrote to her brother, “ lest
her health suffer from the effect of so many shocks. Her
spirit of faith, however, and her wonderful courage re-
assures me. What a valiant woman she is! Adversity
has no power to overcome her, prosperity cannot deceive
her; she is admirable.’’?

At the beginning of 1870 M. Martin handed over his
watch-making establishment to one of his nephews.*
He thought it well to give henceforward more active and
practical help to his wife, whose lace industry continued
to extend considerably.

A period of remarkable and unprecedented success
opened for the family, until Alencon had to bow before
the invasion of the victorious Prussian army. After
having witnessed the sad spectacle of our soldiers suffering
in the hospitals of the town from the wounds of battle
or the contagion of disease, Mme Martin had to open
her house in the rue du Pont-Neuf to nine German
infantry soldiers, who, while refraining from insulting

? Unpublished letter, October 17, 1871.
* Unpublished letter, October 28, 1868.

® He remained in the rue du Pont-Neuf, however, until J uly
of the following year. :

ANCESTRAL ORIGIN 23

violence, destroyed from the commencement the beautiful
order established therein by its mistress.

“They have,” she wrote, ‘‘ reduced the house to a
deplorable condition. ... The town is in desolation;
everyone is in tears except myself.”

In spite of his consternation, M. Martin showed, like
his valiant wife, the greatest courage. She herself is
happy in testifying to the fact: “It is quite possible that
the men between forty and fifty years will be called out;
I am in hourly expectation of the order. My husband
is not in the least alarmed. - He often says that if he
were free he would soon be enlisted amongst the franc-
tireurs.”

Of a lady who had succeeded in concealing her husband
and saving him from the mobilization, the heroic French-
woman exclaimed: ‘Is it possible that anyone would
so act |”

The war was concluded before M. Martin was called
to the colours. ‘The evils of invasion were confined in
their case to material losses; their habitual order and
economy in home life brought them through this tragic
period without too much privation.

With the return of peace, M. and Mme Martin decided
to retire to the residence in the rue Saint Blaise, which
had become theirs by the death of the grandfather,
M. Guérin.

The house was situated near the church of Notre-Dame.
A simpler and more retired residence would be hard to
find; adjoining on one side a quiet dwelling, it was
separated on the other from the neighbouring house by a
garden trellis. With its ground floor pierced by only
two windows, with three arched windows to light its
second floor, it appeared somewhat small for a large
family; but the two elder girls, who were then boarders
at Le Mans, spent only vacation-time at Alengon, and the
parents, always adverse to ostentation, aspired to nothing
beyond simplicity and good taste in their home. Witha

24 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

rather larger garden for her children's play, Mme Martin
would have been perfectly content.

Before the retirement of M. Martin they had been
blessed with two more children. Marie-Céline, born in
1869, was to brighten the household with her laughter;
but Marie-Mélanie-Thérése, born in 1870, had gone to
join her little brothers in paradise.

Of these the courageous mother wrote: ‘“‘ Four of my
children are already in their eternal home, and the others
—yes, the others—will also go to that heavenly kingdom,
laden with more merits, for they will have been longer
in the fight.’’+

Christian hope healed every painful wound, and gave
her that resigned attitude of mind which was visible even
to strangers, and which those little versed in the wonders
of God’s love took for indifference or coldness.

In spite of fresh trials, destined to fortify their virtue,
Louis and Zélie spent in this house six years of the purest
joy and happiness.

Into this atmosphere of tender piety, of domestic
peace and mutual forbearance, came on January 2, 1873,
another child, hailed, like the rest, with transports of joy.
It was the “‘ little missionary,” the object of such ardent
longings and fervent prayers. Contrary to the expecta-
tion of her parents, or to what anyone could foresee, this
frail little daughter was destined to win to God, by the
power of her intercession and of her miracles, more souls
than the greatest apostle of foreign lands.*

The two elder girls, who were home for the holidays,
were sleeping in their little room on the second floor
when, towards midnight, M. Martin received this new
gift from heaven. He mounted the stairs with light step,

' Histotre d’une Ame : Introduction, p. xxxi.
2 One day, as Mme Martin was singing, she seemed to hear
the child singing also. Itwasahappy augury. The soul which

was about to make its entrance into the world was truly une
ame chantante.

————

ANCESTRAL ORIGIN 25

and arousing them, announced in joyous tones, ‘‘ My
children, you have a little sister.” Marie and Pauline
joined him in fervent thanks to God.

To follow the life of the newly-born little one will
be henceforward the unique object of our work. Before
speaking of the wonders of this life, it was fitting that we
should present to the reader those chosen souls whose
wise guardianship partly explains its secret.}

1 Some readers may consider the details regarding the
ancestors of Thérése too diffuse. In fact, had this work con-
formed to the canons of an ordinary biography it would have
been necessary to abridge. But the desire of Catholic readers
to learn every detail connected with the life of this new saint
seems to show that they would be glad to enter as far as possible
into that family circle so worthy of her.

CHAPTER II

EARLY INFANCY OF ‘‘ LITTLE THERESE ”

to the child. Her future godfather, Paul Albert

Boul, son of one of M. Martin’s friends, although
he lived in Alencon, caused some delay. Anxious on
account of this delay, Mme Martin besought God that
he would not allow her child to die without baptism.

At last, on the afternoon of January 4, everything was
in readiness for the great ceremony, and the whole family
set out for the church of Notre-Dame. ‘This church,
with its three-sided porch surmounted by gracefully
pointed arches, and lighted by small apertures of highly
elaborate style, with its trifortum of rare elegance and
its glistening stained glass windows of fifteenth- and
sixteenth-century design, was a joy to artists, as well
as to the faithful who came to pray and meditate within
its walls smoothed by the long caress of the years. But
it is not in the boldly curved arches, nor yet in the
beautiful stained glass windows, each depicting an in-
cident in the life of the Blessed Virgin,' that the most
lively interest of the present-day pilgrim is centred.

In the first chapel to the left, near a baptismal font of
rather original design, and, until quite recently, before a
group representing the baptism of Christ, the flames of
innumerable candles bend to the north wind which blows

M ARIE, the eldest sister, was chosen as godmother

1 The stained glass windows of Notre-Dame are admirably
executed. They form two series. One depicts scenes from the
life of the Blessed Virgin; the other scenes from the Old Testa-
ment. Between the two series is a window showing the tree
of Jesse. Allare in good preservation.

26

EARLY INFANCY OF “ LITTLE THERESE ” ay

through the crevices made in the window by the ravages
of winter.*

Here persons of rank and wealth come side by side
with the poor, to kneel in silent prayer and to offer their
ex votos to the blessed soul regenerated long ago in this
corner of the old church.

The Sacrament of Baptism was conferred by Abbé
Lucien-Victor Dumaine, a priest of the parish and
personal friend of the Martin family. This priest, who
became later Vicar-General of Séez, was to be a witness
in the process of beatification of the child, whom he
regenerated that day to the divine life. But who, on that
cold January afternoon, could have predicted for her so
glorious a future ??

In accordance with her parents’ vow, this child received,
like her sisters, the name of Marie, Francoise-Thérése
being added, of which the last became her usual name in
the family.

Pure as the dome of heaven studded with stars, white
as a snow-clad countryside, Thérese was carried home
in the arms of the faithful servant Louise, while the bells
of Notre-Dame rang out in gladness. Mme Martin
was now satisfied ; her mind was at rest.

Weeks passed by, weeks full of radiant hope. ‘The
mother took to herself the charge of nursing her dear
little one, on whose brow she seemed already to discern
the divine light. But very soon her strength failed, and
the child, too, began to decline. ‘Thérése was following
in the way of the little angels who were gone. ‘They
were calling her, perhaps; another sacrifice seemed to be

1 A slab to commemorate the baptism of Thérése Martin
has recently been put up in this chapel. A statue of the saint
with a richly ornamented altar has also been erected there.
A new window depicting the baptism of Thérése has replaced
the old one described above.

2 Abbé Dumaine was as learned as he was wise. He has left
an important work on local history entitled Tinchebray et sa
région au bocage normand.

28 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

demanded of the poor parents. Every means was em-
ployed to avert the threatened calamity. The family
doctor declared that one chance of life alone remained,
to confide Thérése to the care of a healthy nurse.

Mme Martin had already had one of her children
nursed by the wife of a farmer and mother of a large
family living at some distance from Alengon. Her full
name was Rose Taillé, but on account of her small
stature, and, perhaps too, because of her prepossessing
and pleasing manner, she was called by those who knew
her ‘‘ little Rose.”’ The poor mother grasped eagerly
at this one chance of saving the life of her child. “If
it had not been so late,’’ she writes, ‘‘ 1 would have
gone instantly to get the nurse. How long the night
seemed! 'Thérése would scarce swallow a few drops of
milk; the gravest symptoms that had preceded the death
of the other little ones began to appear. I was sorely
grieved that my poor babe could get no help from me
in her feeble state. At daybreak I set out to find the
nurse who lived at Semallé, almost two leagues from
Alengon. My husband was away, and I did not wish
to entrust to anyone else the success of my errand. In
a lonely part of the road I met two men, and for a moment
felt frightened; but I said to myself: ‘ Even though they
should kill me, I do not care.’ I was sick at heart. At
last I arrived at the nurse’s house, and asked her if she
would come with me and remain with us, but she said
that she could not leave her home and children; she
would stay with me eight days and then take Thérése
back with her. I consented, knowing that my child
would be very safe in her care.’’!

The two women reached Alencon in the forenoon.
At sight of the dying child the nurse shook her head
discouragingly, evidently thinking that it was too late.
Mme Martin, grieved beyond measure at the pitiful
aspect of the babe, hastened to her room, and throwing

+ Unpublished letter to her sister-in-law, March, 1873.

EARLY INFANCY OF “ LITTLE THERESE ” 29

herself on her knees before a statue of St Joseph, invoked,
with tears but with hope that never faltered, that patron
of every hope-bereft cause.

She then returned to the room below. Unexpected
joy! The child, in the nurse’s arms, seemed to have
come back to life. But the joy was fleeting, for, as though
finally vanquished by the malady, little Thérése fell back
again on the peasant’s lap; not a sign of life remained, not
a breath, nothing! ...

Amid her tears, the heroic mother’s piety gave her
sufficient courage to offer a prayer of thanks to God that
death had come so gently to her little one.

Then, suddenly, Thérése opened her eyes once more,
her features were reanimated, and she smiled as she
gazed up at her mother. St Joseph had hearkened to
that mother’s prayer; the child but a moment before
at the point of death appeared now quite revived.

The nurse was obliged to return to her home, but
carried away in her arms the little Thérése.

As may be easily imagined, a farmhouse in Basse-
Normandie holds few attractions for a town-dweller.
One or two apartments of stone or mud, with a roof of
thatch, form the dwelling. To this retreat, surrounded
as it is by evil-smelling stables, situated beside a cattle-
pen which is a water-logged swamp during the winter
months, and in summer little more than a manure-heap
with pools of stagnant water, the Bocage peasant retires
after his daily labour in the fields.

To one of these humble dwellings was the little invalid
brought. This simple home, a one-storied building
with three openings, had still its cradle, for a child had
been born to the farmer but a year before. Three other
playful and happy mites gathered round to gaze on the
new-comer in smiling wonder. As tothe rest, the cottage
was comparatively neat and clean, and Mme Martin
knew from the good woman’s former services that “‘ little
Rose ”’ could be relied upon to give conscientious care

30 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

toher charge. But internal troubles, so common amongst
young children, are usually tenacious. Little Thérése
had been in Semallé not quite three weeks when she
got a fresh attack, which awakened anew her mother’s
gravest fears. ‘

We find this letter from Mme Martin to her relations
at Lisieux, dated March 30, 1873: ‘“‘ Since Thérése had
been taken over by the nurse she had been very well,
and had even grown a good deal. But the internal
irritation was only allayed for a time and has, since
Friday last, attacked her throat and chest. When the
doctor visited her she was in high fever... . He told
me, however, that he did not think her in danger. ‘Today
she is better, but I am in great fear; I doubt whether we
shall be able to bring her up. ... I have done every-
thing I can to save her life. If now the good God wills
to dispose otherwise, I will strive to bear the trial with all
possible patience. There is indeed need to reanimate
my courage. I have already suffered much during my
life. I should wish, my dear friends, that you were more
fortunate than I: it grieves me to see that trials also come
your way.” ‘The concluding words of the letter refer
to a recent fire which had caused great damage to a
portion of the pharmacy belonging to M. Guérin. For
the rest, the Martin family had not seen the last of their
sorrows.

Before Thérése had gained health, Marie, her eldest
sister and godmother, was attacked at Le Mans by
typhoid fever and obliged to leave school.

For weeks she lay ill at Alencgon, anxiously watched over
by her mother. Every day, and oftentimes the greater
part of the night, were spent by Mme Martin at the bed- |
side of her daughter. Meanwhile orders were pouring
in, the workers had to be directed, and the lace delivered
at the promised time. The poor mother was weighed
down with the heavy burthen, but her faith did not for a

1 Unpublished letter.

iz

EARLY INFANCY OF “‘ LITTLE THERESE ”’ 31

moment fail. Even in her own sorrow she had a thought
for the trials of others. She wrote, at this time, to Mme
Guerin:

“* Each has his own cross to bear; some receive a heavier
load than others. You have already begun to learn, dear
sister, that life is not all strewn with roses. God, in His
goodness, has decreed this in order to detach us from the
earth, and to turn our thoughts towards heaven.’

She admits, nevertheless, that she herself had need of
supernatural help in her great distress of soul.

**T never leave the sick-room, and sometimes remain
on my feet the whole night. The grace of God is surely
necessary at such a time as this to keep one from breaking
down.”’?

Her husband realized the necessity of obtaining that
grace, or at least of prolonging its effects, We find him
imposing on himself, for his daughter’s cure, those
primitive penances which, fifty years ago, were common
in the cantons of Normandy, to obtain the intercession
of some local patron saint.

On May 5 Mme Martin wrote to her daughter
Pauline: “‘ Your father sets out this morning for the ridge
of Chaumont to make a pilgrimage on behalf of Marie.
He goes fasting and will return fasting. He wants to do
penance in order that God may hear his prayers; he has
to travel six leagues on foot.’

God had already, at this time, answered in part the
prayers of the poor parents for their two sick children.
On April 20 the mother had been able to write these
reassuring words: ‘‘ The nurse brought our little Thérése
here today; she is quite well and strong.”

Slowly, after frequent relapses, Marie too became
convalescent, and once more gladness reappeared in the
family circle. Sometimes little Thérése was the innocent

1 Unpublished letter.
2 Unpublished letter to her sister-in-law, April 13, 1873.
> Unpublished letter.

32 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

messenger of joy, although her visits had on a few occasions
other unforeseen effects.

Thus one Sunday “little Rose” brought her, all
unexpectedly, to Alengon, and without any previous
announcement took her to the rue Saint Blaise.

‘We did not expect Thérése,” writes Mme Martin;
‘the nurse arrived with her four children at half-past
eleven, just as we were sitting down to table. She
put the baby in my arms and went off immediately to
Mass.

** Yes, but the little one would not have this; she criea
until we thought she would swoon away. Everyone in
the house was upset. I had to send Louise’ to ask the
nurse to come back immediately after Mass, as she had
intended to make some delay in purchasing shoes for
her children. She left before Mass was half finished
and came running up to the house. I was vexed at that;
the babe would not have died from crying.

“‘ She became happy immediately. She is quite strong;
everybody is surprised. I rocked her in my arms and
walked about so much, trying to quiet her, that I had a
pain in my back for the remainder of the day !’”?

What a consolation for Mme Martin, after months of
anxiety, to feel at last reassured about the life which had
seemed so near its end.

The child’s recovery could not indeed be attributed to
delicate care. When the farmer’s wife was going out
to the fields she placed Thérése on some straw in the
bottom of her barrow, and thus wheeled her along the
grassy paths through the clover and flowers to the spot
where her husband was working. When milking-time
came she carried the little one with her in her apron, so
that Thérése lived constantly in the open air amidst the
fragrance of the fresh hay and the scent of the ripe corn.
In this way she became ‘“ browned by the sun,” and

1 A servant in the Martin family.
* Unpublished letter to Pauline, May 5, 1873.

EARLY INFANCY OF “‘ LITTLE THERESE ” 22

grew daily more robust from inhaling the chemicals given
out by the harvest-bearing fields.

From constant intercourse with this peasant family
Thérése developed rustic instincts. Mme Martin had
occasion to notice this almost every month when little
scenes took place of which she chose to see only the
pleasant side. She wrote on May 22 to her daughter
Pauline:

'“T saw little Thérése on Tuesday last. The nurse
brought her here but she would not stay, and cried loudly
when she found herself left with us. Louise had to take
her to the market where ‘“‘ little Rose ”’ had gone to sell
her butter; there was no other way out of the difficulty.
The moment she caught sight of her nurse she began to
smile, and cried no more. She remained there selling
butter with all the women until midday. I know I could
not hold her long in my arms without being really tired.
She weighs fourteen pounds. She will be very winning
and graceful later on.’’!

The trifling incidents that went to make up the early
days of Thérése differ very slightly from those which
every mother may observe. Now comes what would
seem to be the first manifestation of the presence of the
Holy Spirit in the soul of the little child.

It was November 30, 1873; Thérése was eleven
months old. Her mother, writing to Pauline, tells of
her physical development, and notices the dawning
reflection on her countenance of the inward beauty of a
child of God:

“I expect that she will be able to walk unaided in five
or six weeks more. You have only to put her standing
beside a chair, and she remains quite steady—never falls.
She takes her own little precautions to accomplish this
and appears very intelligent. She is continually smiling ;
she has the expression of one who is predestined.”

2 Unpublished letter. 2 Ibid,
3

34. ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

On January 11 following we find this letter:

‘My little Thérése has since Thursday been able to
walk alone. She is sweet and lovely as a little angel.
She has a charming disposition, that is apparent already;
and she has such a winning smile. I long to have her
with us again.”

Was it not remarkable to see this frail infant, only a
year old, already revealing by her sweet disposition and
the unmistakable light of her countenance, the abiding
presence of God in her soul, finding His delight in its
innocent depths ?

Thérése had been taken back to Alencon on April 2,
1874. The danger so feared by the family seemed to
have passed. Marie, too, was growing strong again;
Pauline, at the Visitation Convent, proved the constant
joy of her teachers and the consolation of her mother;
little Céline, of a lively and amiable disposition, and very
quick intelligence, triumphed over certain symptoms
which had given cause for disquietude. As for Léonie,
everything gave promise for the near future of the
expansion and activity, hitherto indeterminate, of her
good qualities.

Gladdened by the constant caresses of their children,
the parents soon forgot their distress of mind. ‘The sight
alone of her who was to be the “little Queen ”’ was
sufficient to fill their hearts with joy. ‘‘ Of all, except
my first child, she is the most robust,” declared
Mme Martin. ‘“ She will be pretty; even now she has
a pleasing grace; she has a tiny mouth, which I particularly
admire.’”?

In the midst of his happiness, M. Martin never forgot
his debt of thanks to God. In May, 1873, after the cure
of his daughter Marie, he went to Notre-Dame de
Chartres to offer a prayer of gratitude. In October

* Unpublished letter to her brother and her sister-in-law,
January 11, 1874.

* Unpublished letter to her sister-in-law, June 1, 1874.

|
|

EARLY INFANCY OF ‘‘ LITTLE THERESE ”’ a5

of the same year he went on the diocesan pilgrimage to
Lourdes, and brought back with him two large pieces of
stone which he had detached from the rock of Massa-
bielle, two yards distant from the spot of the Apparition.

To these pilgrimages of penance and thanks this
fervent soul joined more assiduously than ever the practice
of nocturnal Adoration.

Mme. Martin, on her part, surrounded as she was by
her devout children who seemed already to give signs of
the call to religious life, encouraged in the way of self-
abnegation and piety by her saintly Visitandine sister,
made daily effort to progress towards union with God,
after the example of her husband. She wrote freely to
her two eldest daughters, who were again together at the
convent, of her intention to undertake a vigilant fight
against nature. We give the letter in the familiar style

_ of her native Normandy. ‘‘ I must go to Vespers to pray

for the souls of our dead,” she writes on the evening of
All Saints Day. “A day will come when you will go
also to pray for me; but I must so act now as not to have
too much need of your prayers. I earnestly wish to
become a saint. It will not be easy; a great deal yet
remains to be ‘ hewn’ off, and the wood is hard as stone.
It would have been better to have commenced earlier in
life, the task would have been less difficult, but ‘ better
late than never.’ ’”!

Needless to say that we have here the language of
humility, and that the struggle towards perfection had
been undertaken long before.

M. Martin was a loving father, especially towards his
younger children. So captivated was he by the charms
of Thérése that he called her even then his ‘‘ Queen,”
and sought to provide many little pleasures for her.

The child must have been precocious beyond her age,

1 Unpublished letter to her daughters Marie and Pauline
November 1, 1873.

36 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

for when only eighteen months old she was offered
amusements which ordinarily belong to children more
advanced. In June, 1874, M. Martin erected in their
little garden a swing for the amusement of Céline and
Thérése. It was wonderful to see how Thérése enjoyed
the motion of the swing, imagining, no doubt, that she
was floating on wings. ‘“‘ She acts just like an older
child,’’ writes her mother. ‘‘ There is no danger that
she will let go the rope; when the swing is not going
high enough she calls out to us; we tie a cord in front to
keep her from falling off, but notwithstanding that, I
cannot feel at rest when I see her perched aloft.’

This exercise did, no doubt, appear somewhat violent
for a child of her age; but God, who had such glorious
designs for her, preserved her by means which sometimes
seemed to defy the laws of nature. The following
incident, related by Mme Martin, gives a striking ex-
ample of this:

* Quite lately I had a singular experience with the little
one. It was my custom to go to Mass every morning at
half-past five. At first I did not dare to leave her alone,
but, seeing that she never awakened, I decided at last to
leave her. I put her therefore to sleep in my bed, and
placed the cradle so close beside it that it was impossible
for her to fall out.

“One day I forgot to place the cradle thus as a pro-
tection, On my return I sawno Thérése. At that very
moment I heard a cry, and looking, found her sitting on a
chair close to the bed. Her head rested on the bolster,
and there she was sleeping, uneasily, for she was in an
uncomfortable position.

“I cannot understand how she fell in such a way as to
get seated on that chair. I thanked God when I found
that she had come to no harm. It was certainly pro-
vidential; she would, in ordinary circumstances, have
fallen to the ground. Her guardian angel was there

+ Letter to her daughters Marie and Pauline, June 25, 1874.

EARLY INFANCY OF “‘ LITTLE THERESE ” 37

keeping watch over her, and the souls in purgatory, whose
intercession I ask for her every day, saved her.’’!

Up to this time, Thérése’s faculties had lain dormant in
the silent torpor of early infancy. At most, the light of
heaven which seems to caress the brow of every little
child, as it smiles perhaps an answering smile to the
angels, appeared more distinctly reflected in her innocent
countenance than in that of other babes. Now her soul
began gradually to awaken.

From the age of eighteen months Thérése manifested,
in her own charming and naive way, a tender love for her
mother. This was not always, be it admitted, “‘ the
perfect love” without hope of recompense; nevertheless,
Mme Martin smiled with delight at these first lispings
of her little daughter.

“* Picture to yourselves,”’ she wrote to Marie and Pauline,
“the baby coming to embrace me and stroke my face with
her little hand. I can see that she has some idea behind
it all. She wants ‘a scarf pin. ...’ The poor baba,
she cannot bear to leave me, and is continually at my side;
she loves going into the garden, but if I am not there, does
not want to stay, and cries until she is brought back to me.’”

This good mother was soon to taste purer and deeper
joy. She wished that the first words spoken by her child
should be words of prayer, and on November 8, 1874,
this baby, aged only twenty-two months, offered to the
“good Jesus ” the love of her innocent soul with words
and with a sincerity that delighted the heart of her mother.

“ My little Thérése,’’ she said, ‘‘ grows every day more
charming; she prattles from morning till night. She
sings little songs for us; but you must become accustomed
to her in order to understand. She says her prayers like
a little angel; it is ideal.’’®

Soon she was brought to church, and it was wonderful

1 Unpublished letter. pies “Ai
2 Unpublished letter to Marie and Pauline at the Visitation
Convent. 3 Unpublished letter to her sister-in-law.

38 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

to see the interest which this child of two years took in the
sacred functions; she seemed already to understand their
meaning and import. Let her mother again describe
her childlike actions, and her innocent remarks; we have
nothing of greater worth than these accounts from so
authoritative a witness to enable us to catch a glimpse
of the first workings in this little soul.

“ Thérése continues always in good health: she has an
air of well-being. She says very amusing things. She
already knows how to pray to the good God, and goes
every Sunday to a part of Vespers; if, unfortunately, she
is left at home, she cries and will not be comforted.

“‘ Some weeks ago she was taken for a walk on Sunday.
She had not been ‘ at Mass’ as she said herself. On
returning from the walk she began to cry vigorously,
saying that she wanted to go to Mass. She opened the
hall door and ran away, in torrents of rain, towards the
church. When we had run after her and brought her
back, her tears and lamentation lasted a good hour.

“‘ Once she said out aloud to me in church: ‘ I have been
at Mass here, and I have prayed well to the good God too.’
When, on her father’s return home this evening, she did
not see him say his prayers, she said: ‘ Why do you not
say your prayers, papa? Have you already been to
church ?”

“Since the beginning of Lent, I go to six o’clock Mass,
and often she is awake when I leave the house. Before
I go, she says to me, ‘ Mama, I am going to be very good.’
In fact, she never stirs, but goes off to sleep again.’”!

Allowing for the influence of example in religious
exercises which affects the children of Christian families,
the fact remains that a child of two years, whose attraction
for the things of God was so great as to draw her towards
the church in torrents of rain, manifested by her unusual
courage, the interior influence of the Holy Spirit urging
her, even then, “‘ to refuse nothing to Jesus.”

* Unpublished letter to her sister-in-law, March 14, 1875.

EARLY INFANCY OF ‘‘ LITTLE THERESE ”’ 39

Mme Martin’s heart rejoiced at these first gleams of
supernatural light; but to those joys were often added
the sudden and passing anxieties of a mother; such as
when Thérése fell one day against the leg of a table and
cut her forehead so badly that it was feared she would
bear the mark all her life; or when, scarcely cured of one
cold, she would contract another. But children, as we
know, although liable to be affected seriously by the least
accident, recover just as quickly. The clouds soon dis-
appeared after each little storm, and the first smile of
Thérése, on recovering from these not very serious
attacks, brought back the light anew to her mother’s face.

From this time onward the family enjoyed frequent
periods of tranquil happiness.

There is a painting which represents the complete
group of children gathered around M. and Mme Martin
in their sitting-room, in the rue Saint Blaise, during the
quiet evening hours, probably towards the end of Sep-
tember when Marie and Pauline were on vacation at
Alencon. In the subdued lamplight each one is occupied
or at rest according to inclination. ‘The father, his grave
countenance rendered more venerable by his already
white hair, has opened a newspaper, but he is more
concerned with his children than with the news of the day,
and he is speaking to Léonie, who is finishing some school
task. Marie is leaning on the back of her mother’s chair.
Her attention is centred on little Thérése, who, kneeling
on her mother’s lap with joined hands and eyes raised
heavenwards, addresses herself to the little Jesus, whom
she seems almost to see, as through a transparent veil.
Kneeling at her mother’s feet, Céline joins her prayer
to that of her little sister whose dearest companion she
was henceforth to be, while Pauline has interrupted her
reading and sits smiling at the angelic child in converse
with God. A beautiful and homely picture they make, a
picture which gives an idea of the tastes and family life
of the Martin household. Its members did not, it is true,

40 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

form a rigorously closed circle, but their habitual inter-
course scarcely extended beyond their nearest relations.

The deep affection of Mme Martin for her brother is
already known to the reader. The more she knew of her
sister-in-law, a woman of tender devotedness and solid
piety, the more did she appreciate her friendship, and
Mme Guérin became the confidante of all her joys and
sorrows.

Mme Martin always made of her visit to Lisieux a
special holiday; not indeed that she sought relaxation
for herself, but she knew what pleasure it gave the children
to have a few hours’ play with little Jeanne Guérin and
her sister Marie.

In the same way, the greatest pleasure of New Year’s
Day for the two families was the interchange of many and
various presents, which on the one side and on the other
aunts and uncles sent as New Year gifts to their little
nieces.

One outing, however, had for Mme Martin a deeper,
if not a sweeter, charm than the visit to Lisieux. She
prized her day in the Visitation Convent of Le Mans above
all others. ‘This holy soul, who had at one time serious
thoughts of the religious life, felt a profound attraction
for the recollection and the self-abnegation of the cloister.
When she found that her dearly loved sister had been
attacked by phthisis, and that her days were numbered,
her devotion redoubled towards the fervent religious who
had, in great measure, been a mother to her two eldest
children. |

Mme Martin was anxious also that this dear sister
should see her little Thérése, who gave, even as a child,
so great promise of virtue. Who knows? Perhaps this
little daughter would one day occupy in a convent choir
the place that she had thought destined for herself. So,
one morning in April, 1875, they set out by train for
Le Mans. “I took with me,” writes Mme Martin,
“little Thérése, who was delighted to travel by train. . . .

EARLY INFANCY OF ‘‘ LITTLE THERESE ” 41

When we had arrived at Le Mans she was tired and began
to cry, but became quite bright afterwards, and behaved
like a grown girl all the time we remained in the parlour.
Why she cried when we went in I do not know; her
heart was full; the tears fell freely. She was convulsed
with silent weeping. Perhaps the grille frightened her.
Afterwards all went well. She answered every question
addressed to her, as if she were undergoing an examina-
tion.

““'The Superioress came to see her, and gave her some
little presents. When I said to her ‘ Ask the good Mother
for her blessing,’ she caused a general laugh by replying:
‘Mother, will you come home with us ?’ ’’4

We may smile at this little incident, but can we not see,
even in this childish request, the inclination of the little
soul towards everything which spoke of God, were it
even the austere vesture of a religious ?

But are we to suppose that Thérése was altogether free
from childish caprice, from those quick flashes of child-
nature, where a word or a cry reveals the naturally self-
willed temperament of all very young children? This
would be the more astonishing, since, according to the
testimony of Mme Martin, her husband had been in-
clined at first rather to spoil the little one. But even
amidst childishly persistent and unreasonable demands,
an ingenuous remark, an unexpected request, proved that
Thérése was losing nothing of her growing piety.

One day, when she offered some resistance, Mme
Martin insisted on obedience from her little daughter.
She wrote afterwards to Pauline that “little Thérése
is very lovable.” Then she adds: ‘‘ On Sunday, after
I had gone to bed, she told me that she had not said her
prayers. I replied: ‘Goto sleep; you shall say them to-
morrow.’ But that did not satisfy her. To end the
matter, her father helped her to say them. But he was

1 Unpublished letter to her brother and her sister-in-law,
April 29, 1875.

42 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

not the teacher all the time. They had to say ‘ Grace.’
He was not sure what this was for. In the end he had
said everything nearly according to her ideas, and we had
peace until the following morning.”

Negligible details, the reader may be inclined to say at
first. Perhaps so, if it were question of an ordinary
child; but what seriously-minded Catholic will not be
interested in searching for the first traces of divine
influence in a soul which was to become afterwards so
fruitful a source of supernatural charity ?

The love of this innocent soul for God, and her attrac-
tion towards heaven where His presence could be eternally
enjoyed, led Thérése at times to give utterance to un-
expected wishes. One day she surprised her mother by
throwing her arms around her and telling her that she
wished her to die. ‘‘ Oh, how I wish you would die, my
poor little mother.’’ On her mother protesting, Thérése
explained: “‘ But it is that you may go to heaven, since
you say we must die to go there.’ And Mme Martin
adds: “‘ She expresses the same wish to her father in the
fervour of her love for him.’’!

The desire of pleasing our Lord, or at least unwilling-
ness to cause him pain, prompted her even at so early.an
age to overcome certain imperious tendencies which arose
instinctively in her nature.

After leaving school Marie began to give lessons to
Céline, who was three years and eight months older than
Thérése. Thérése eagerly insisted on being allowed to
stay in the room during lesson-time; nor was this without
profit, for Mme Martin records that, at the end of
December, 1875, before her third year was completed,
Thérése knew almost all her letters and was even begin-
ning to read.?

1 Letter of Mme Martin to her daughter Pauline, December 5,

* Unpublished letter to her sister-in-law, December 23, 1875.

-

EARLY INFANCY OF “ LITTLE THERESE ”’ 43

Some months later in a letter to Pauline the mother
wrote with ever growing delight: ‘“‘ She is endowed with
more intelligence than I noticed in any of you.’

But the child’s anxiety to learn was sometimes em-
barrassing. Marie, fearing that her work as teacher
would be impeded by Thérése, did not always invite her
tocome. But the little one was not to be denied; she came
of her own accord.

““ One day,” Marie tells us, “‘ I saw her at the door of
my room. She was trying to open it, but was too small
to reach the handle. I waited to see what she would do;
would she begin to cry, or would she call some one to
open it forher? But no; she did not say a word, simply
lay down outside the door in disappointment at her
failure.

“I told my mother of the incident. She said to me:
* She must not be allowed to do that.’

“On the following day the same thing happened.
Then I said: ‘ Thérése, you are grieving the Little Jesus.’
She looked at me earnestly. So well did she understand
that never since has she repeated that action.”?

Wonderful instance of divine solicitude; under the
guiding influence of the virtues infused at baptism, virtues
guarded and fostered by a mother’s loving care, the fear
and love of God had already sown in the soul of this
child of two years seeds which were daily springing forth
into meritorious acts.

Mme Martin was mindful of the ambition of her
early motherhood: ‘‘ That all her children might be con-
secrated to God.”’ What a joy! For a long time she
feared that this dream would never be realized; but her
hopes began now to revive. The deep and earnest piety
of Marie, supported by a ready and acute intelligence,
her constant application, her simple and modest tastes,

1 Unpublished letter to Pauline, March 22, 1877. ,
2 Unpublished note of Scur Marie du Sacré-Cceur (Marie),
of the Carmel of Lisieux.

44 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

pointed undoubtedly to a religious vocation. The
brilliant qualities of Pauline might have given grounds
to fear vanity, but that she was as obedient as industrious
and her earnest preparation of class-work was exceeded by
her fidelity to religious exercises. The account of her
progress at the Visitation Convent was her mother’s great
joy and consolation. ‘‘ You are my true friend,” she
wrote to Pauline; ‘‘ you give me courage to bear trial with
patience. ... I feel grateful to you for the joy that
you are to us all. God will be your recompense in this
world as well as in the next, for duty faithfully done
brings its reward of happiness even here below.’”*

Despite the inequalities of an uneven temperament,
Léonie showed so real an attachment to her aunt in the
convent as to give rise to the thought that she might
one day join her there. In 1875 Sr Marie-Dosithée
wrote to her brother, M. Guérin: “‘ Léonie inspires me
with great hopes for the future. True she is somewhat
difficult to manage, but she has a heart of gold. I find
in her a fund of good sense and great force of character.
When this child sees her duty nothing will hold her back
from carrying it out.’’?

In 1875 Céline was six years of age. ‘“‘ She is,” says
Mme Martin, “‘ very gentle, she learns easily, and will
be a charming child, if God leaves her with us.””®

As to the little Benjamin of the family, who manifested
so clearly by her unexpected remarks and precocious
reflections the impress of the Holy Spirit, there was good
reason to hope that she would one day be united to Him
for ever.

In order to keep alive these high aspirations, Mme Martin
gave her moments of leisure to the reading of some book
which portrayed the joys of the religious life, joys which

1 Unpublished letter to Pauline, December 5, 1875.

* Unpublished letter: Family Archives.

® Céline was, in fact, of a delicate constitution. Unpublished
letter of November, 1875.

‘

EARLY INFANCY OF ‘‘ LITTLE THERESE ”’ 45

had at one time won her own heart, and which she desired
now more than ever for her children.

““I am reading at present,’ she wrote, ‘‘ the life of
St Chantal. Iam rapt in admiration. It is all the more
interesting for me, because I have a great love for the
Order of the Visitation; I love it now more than ever.
How fortunate are they who are called to that sacred
retreat.”

And some weeks later we find the following: ‘‘I do
nothing but dream of the cloister and solitude. Indeed,
with the ideas that I have, I do not know how it was not
my vocation either to remain unmarried or to enter a
convent. I would now wish to live to a great age, so
that I might retire into solitude when all my children have
been brought up.’”?

. But these hopes of long life and of peaceful old age
in the retirement of the cloister were not to be satisfied.

God had other designs for that chosen one who was
preparing souls to be consecrated to Him in the religious
life. By the merit of suffering heroically endured she
will complete the spiritual formation of her elder children,
and will obtain for little Thérése—that child already
predestined—grace to become, one day, the purest victim
of God’s merciful love.

1 Unpublished letter to her daughter Pauline, December 5
1875.
2 Unpublished letter to Pauline, January 16, 1876.

CHAPTER III

GROWING VIRTUE OF THERESE—HER FIRST GREAT TRIAL

surround me with love: my earliest memories

are of smiles and tender caresses.”* ‘Thérése
attributes her early attraction towards good, which we
have already noticed in its commencement, to the in-
fluence of this holy affection and the example of every
family virtue. We must add to these the austere action
of trial which raised her young soul, deprived from the
first of the unstable happiness of earth, towards the joys
of heaven.

Before setting out to follow her progress in the path of
virtue, we must first complete the picture of this family
life where self-denial was the sustaining force of charity,
and where the devotedness of each called forth from the
others the most meritorious effort by the influence of
example. Notice first these actions which, in their daily
exercise by the parents before the eyes of 'Thérése, must
have given her little by little a high sense of duty. The
traits thus described will serve to bring into clearer
outline the picture of this Christian home.

i | my whole life God has been pleased to

We have already given the reader an idea of Mme
Martin’s zeal for work; but her husband, although retired
from his former business, did not leave his wife unaided
in her lace industry.

On the front of the house occupied by the family was
a marble slab bearing this inscription: ‘‘ Louis Martin,
Manufacturer of Point d’Alengon,” and this notice gives

1 Histoire d’une Ame, ch. i, p. 8.
46

GROWING VIRTUE OF THERESE 47

an indication of the very real part which the master of the
house took in the work. It was M. Martin who trans-
acted all the business outside the house and took charge
of the delivery to distant places. He also often kept the
accounts. These occupations gave him opportunity
to practise virtues of which little Thérése, an astute
observer from her infancy, took note, and marked the
progress.

Thus he would on no account take goods on credit;
everything must be paid for on the spot. ‘The workers
too must be paid regularly ‘‘ in order that,”’ as he said
himself, “a justly earned wage or a sum of money due for
goods received may not be retained unjustly, and further-
more, to safeguard oneself from running into debt by
inadvertence.”’ Neither would he increase his income
by frequent speculation, even ifjustifiable. Hewould say:
“I know I could easily take large profits by the skilful
manipulation of my capital, but speculation is a slippery
incline, and I have no desire whatever to follow too
closely the fluctuating values of those perishable
securities.”

His strictness in observing the rest from servile work
prescribed for the Lord’s Day, his scrupulous care in
carrying out the Church’s exercises of penance, are already
known to the reader. In this respect also his wife
surpassed the ordinary practice of the faithful. What an
example of self-denial and sacrifice we find in this noble
woman who, having come to Lisieux eight months
before her death to undergo an operation for an incurable
disease of long standing, refused to partake of the evening
meal prepared for her “‘ because it was an Ember Day,
and she intended to keep the fast.”

To such heroic souls as hers are the supernatural
manifestations of heaven vouchsafed. We have seen
with what tenderness Mme Martin watched over little
Héléne until her death at the early age of five and a half
years. Recalling afterwards a slight untruth that had

48 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

escaped the child in its innocent prattling, the mother was
reflecting sorrowfully one day before a statue of the
Blessed Virgin that her Héléne might be in purgatory,
when from this statue, which was later to play a part in
the life of Thérése, came the reassuring words: ‘‘ She
is here at my side.””*

With Heaven-sent communications this devout Catholic
was also to experience, after the manner of certain saints
who were physically tormented by the demon, the
brutality of the powers of hell raised in jealous strife
against her virtues. One evening,? as Mme Martin
was sitting alone in the lower room, a passage of an edifying
work which she had just laid down led her to meditate
on the trials inflicted on the servants of God by the spirit
of darkness. She said to herself: “‘ Such attacks of the
evil one will never be directed against me; only the saints
are destined for trials of this nature.” At that moment
an enormous weight, as of the claw of some wild beast,
bore down upon her shoulder. After the first sensation
of terror caused by this ferocious attack followed the

calm of a soul which feels above all that it is in the hands
of God. ;

Such were the lives that came daily under the notice
of little Thérése. With “‘her quick intelligence, her
open and impressionable mind,”* she observed these
examples attentively, admired them, and under the
influence of the Holy Spirit grew to love more and more
these devoted parents whom she felt to be the harbingers
of the divine goodness to her in her weakness. ‘‘ No
one can imagine,” she wrote, ‘‘ how I loved papa and mama.
I showed my affection for them in numberless ways, for

1 This statue had been presented to M. Martin before his
marriage by a pious lacy in Alengon, who was called ‘ the
saint.”

2 This happened before the birth of Thérése.

3 Unpublished letter of Mme Martin.

GROWING VIRTUE OF THERESE 49

I was very demonstrative ; the ways I employed make me
laugh now when I think of them.’’!

With this tender affection as its inspiration and guiding
force, the piety of her young soul developed. She wished
to be a joy to her parents; she knew that they owed their
perfection in every good to the great love they had for
God; she understood, besides, that the beneficent Being
must be loved above all, his commands obeyed, every-
thing that would displease him avoided, and she set herself
with all the ardour of her nature to follow these dictates
of conscience. Nor was hers the unquestioning piety
of a child satisfying itself in the incoherent recital of a few
prayers; the first dawnings of reason in Thérése were
applied to discerning the relation between the obligations
imposed by God and the eternal recompense of heaven.
Eternity of happiness is a reward—a reward which must
be won by merit; this truth grasped already by the childish
intelligence formed the keynote of her life. “‘ Thérése
told me this morning,” writes Mme Martin, ‘ that she
wished to go to heaven, and, to obtain this, she would
always act like a little angel.’’?

Her lofty idea of the goodness of God led her to believe,
in her innocence, that the Almighty would never separate
a child from its mother, even should that child offend
him ever so much. Hear her in this little dialogue:
“* Shall I go to heaven, mama?” “ Yes, if you are very
good.”’ ‘‘ Ah, mama, if I was not good I should then
go tohell. But I know what I would do, I would fly up
to you in heaven, and you would hold me close in your
arms. How then would God be able to take me away ?””®
And her look confirmed her conviction that God would
be powerless to touch her if she were once in the arms
of her mother. |

1 Histoire d’une Ame, ch. i, p. 8.
2 Unpublished letter.
8 Letter of Mme Martin to her daughter Pauline, October 29,
1876,
4

50 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

Some months later she gave an example of more
orthodox theology. On her sister Céline asking ‘‘ How
can God be in a little host ?”’ Thérése replied: “‘ That is
not so wonderful, since God is all-powerful.” ‘‘ And
what does all-powerful mean?” “‘ It means that he can
do everything he wills.’

We have been left the following charming picture
sketched by Mme Martin in one of her letters to Pauline,
still at the Visitation Convent.

“Céline and Thérése are inseparable. Two more
loving companions could not be found. When Céline
is taken away for lessons Thérése is immediately in tears.
Alas! what is she to do? Her little friend is going from
her. . . . Marie takes pity on her and brings her also,
and the poor baby sits at the table with them for two, or
maybe three, hours. She is given pearls to string or a
piece of cloth to sew. She does not dare to stir, and
from time to time gives vent to a deep sigh, especially
when her needle comes unthreaded, for she is not able
to thread it and she dare not disturb Marie. ‘Then the
big tears roll down her cheeks. Quickly Marie turns to
console her, threads her needle again, and the poor
little angel smiles through her tears.’’?

But while her little fingers were busy her ears were
open to all that was being said, and Thérése carried away
in her naturally retentive memory many precious ideas,
especially regarding the things of God.

Thus she learned by listening much more quickly
than by reading.

While ever showing a predilection for holy things,
Thérése set herself, at the age of four, to learn by heart
little pieces of poetry which she recited in the family
circle, to the great delight of everybody. As can be well
imagined, Mme Martin found in these little family

. Letter of Mme Martin to her daughter Pauline, May 10,
1077.
* Unpublished letter, March 4, 1877.

GROWING VIRTUE OF THERESE 51

gatherings around Thérése a solace in her heavy toil.
Let us again hear her tell the glad thoughts that filled her
heart.

“This dear little one,’ she wrote to Pauline, ‘‘ is the
joy of usall. She will be good; the seeds of goodness are
plainly there already. She speaks only of God; she would
not omit her prayers for all the world. I wish you could
hear her recite little verses that she has learned by heart.
Never have I seen anything so pleasing. Without any
help she gets the exact expression and tone of voice.
This is particularly true when she recites:

“ Sweet little child with locks of gold,
Where, think you, hath the Lord his Home ?
—Wide earth doth the Almighty hold;
He ruleth, too, the great blue dome.

When she comes to the last line she raises her eyes to
heaven with an expression truly angelic. We never tire
of hearing her repeat it, so beautiful is her rendering;
there is something so heavenly in her expression that we
are enraptured.’

The influence of this family life where all were so united
in the bonds of affection and holy joy, the atmosphere
of tender love and piety ruling and penetrating every
word and action, had a profound effect in the formation
of Thérése’s character.

To the undaunted faith and devotion of her mother,
to the unfailing goodness—unmingled with weakness—
of her saintly father, to the charming tenderness of sisterly

_ affection, did this child owe, after God, her sweet gracious-
ness as well as her desire to diffuse peace and joy around
her, and her imperative wish to please, at any cost, the
good Jesus whom she saw so ardently loved in her home.
Before noting the final indications of the educative
action of her parents, let us try to understand the part

1 Unpublished letter to Pauline, March 4, 1877.

52 ‘ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

which the influence of her sisters had in the formation
of her character.

We have on this subject the invaluable testimony of the
saint’s own words: ‘‘ I remember,” she writes, ‘‘ the great
love which I had at this time for my dear godmother (her
sister Marie), who had just finished her studies at the
Visitation Convent. Without seeming to do so, I took
note of all that was done and said before me; I think I
judged of everything then as now. I listened attentively
to whatever she taught Céline. To obtain the favour of
admission into the room during lessons I was very well-
behaved and obeyed her in everything. She also gave
me numerous little presents, which, although of small
worth, pleased me immensely.””*

Mme Martin shows by the following incident Marie’s
authority over her godchild.

“* Marie loves her little sister very much and finds her
charming. Indeed, if she did not she would be hard to
please, for the little one dreads lest she should go against
Marie’s wishes in anything. Yesterday I wanted to
give her a rose, knowing the delight she took in flowers, but
she begged me not to cut it; Marie had forbidden that.
She flushed crimson with emotion. In spite of all I
cut two roses for her, but she would not dare to appear
with them in the house. It was useless to reassure her
that the roses belonged to me. ‘ No,’ she said; ‘ they are
Marie’s.” A very small thing disturbs the child.’’?

Notwithstanding her continual contact with the little
one in her almost maternal capacity of first instructor,
it was not this eldest sister who had the most marked
influence on the formation and future of Thérése. Strange
to relate, it was the example of a sister who lived as yet
far away from her; stranger still, it was a little word

concerning the vocation of Pauline which decided the
destiny of Thérése.

1 Histotre d’une Ame, ch. i, p. 11.
* Unpublished letter to Pauline, May 21, 1876.

GROWING VIRTUE OF THERESE 53

She tells us this expressly herself:

“From the time I commenced to speak, whenever
mama asked me ‘ Of what are you thinking ?’ my in-
variable answer was ‘ Of Pauline.’ Sometimes I heard
others say that Pauline would be a religious; then, without
knowing too well what it meant, I thought to myself
“I also will be a religious.’ That is one of my first
memories, and since then I never once changed my
resolution. Her example it was that, from the age of
two years, drew me towards the Divine Spouse of
virgins.’”!

Wonderful message from the God of Love to this
faithful soul through that sister who, after having un-
consciously drawn her towards the cloister from her
earliest years, was afterwards to be her official guide in the
way of perfection. ‘This declaration of Thérése regarding
the unusual manifestation of God’s Providence towards
her should be carefully borne in mind. It was this
consciousness of vocation to a life of perfection, a con-
sciousness prudently but constantly entertained, which
explains the heroic resolution of Thérése, at the age of
three, never to refuse anything to Jesus.

The influence of Léonie on the education of Thérése
seems to have been lessmarked. Naturally a very delicate
child, she had to content herself with courses of studies
in the town of Alengon, so that she was little at the house.
There were times, however, when her affectionate nature
expanded, and she lavished her tenderness on Thérése,
whose generous heart responded with gladness. ‘‘ Dear
little Léonie,”’ she writes, “‘ held also a large place in my
heart; she loved me very much. In the evening, when
she came home from lessons, she took care of me while
the rest of the family went fora walk. Iseem to hear even
now her gentle voice in the sweet refrains with which
she sang me to sleep. I can recall her first Communion
perfectly. I remember also her companion, the poor

1 Histoire d’une Ame, ch. i, p. 11.

54 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

child whom mother had dressed, according to a time-
honoured custom among families in easy circumstances,
at Alencon. This little girl never left Léonie’s side for
an instant during the whole of that happy day, and in the
evening at dinner she was given the place of honour.’’*

This incident throws one more light on the picture of
that charitable mother, who sought above all else to teach
her children by good example.

Céline, on account of her tender years, could not have
the same influence as the other sisters on the life and
habits of Thérése. Nevertheless her precocious qualities
formed a real attraction for her little companion, for she
also was a charming child. “I believe,’ her mother
wrote, ‘‘ that Céline will be a great consolationtome. She
has an exceptionally good disposition, quite above the
ordinary. She is already most anxious to find out how
she should prepare for her first Holy Communion.’’?

But she was above all the confidante of her little sister,
her constant companion in every childish game and
recreation. It was Céline, more than any other, who was
to create around Thérése that atmosphere of radiant joy,
whose memory made her ever afterwards bless “ these
sunny years of childhood.” It was also from her child-
hood companionship with Céline that 'Thérése learned the
sweetness of a pure and tender attachment which was
to prepare her to receive later into her virginal heart,
already trained to the immolation of self, the outpourings
of divine love.

What more pleasing than this scene from the life of the
two sisters, traced by Mme Martin ?

“Céline and Thérése love one another dearly: they
never require other company than themselves alone.
The nurse gave Thérése a cock and hen of the smaller
variety of fowls; at once the child gave the cock to Céline.
Every day, after dinner, Céline goes to catch the little

1 Histoire d’une Ame, p. 12.
* Unpublished letter to Pauline, October 8, 1876.

GROWING VIRTUE OF THERESE 55

cock. She catches it immediately, as well as the hen
which, nevertheless, is not so easy to seize hold of; but
Céline is so agile that with one bound she has it in her
hands. Then they bring them in beside the fire and
there amuse themselves for quite a long time.

“On Sunday Thérése took it into her head to leave
her own cot and go to sleep with Céline. The maid,
on coming to dress her, found no Thérése. She saw her
at last, but the little one clung to Céline, saying: ‘ Do |
leave me here, Louise; you see that we two are like two
little white chicks that cannot be separated.’’!

Should Céline leave the table before Thérése, the
latter would immediately leave her dessert unfinished
and go join her sister. Oftentimes thoughts of higher
things, or some pious word or remark, were intermingled
with their innocent amusements. ‘‘On Sundays,”
Thérése relates, “‘ as I was too small to go to Church,
mama remained at home to take care of me. Under-
standing the circumstances, I tried to behave very
properly, and walked about only on tiptoe in order not
to make any noise ; but when I heard the door being opened
it was the signal for an outburst of joy. I would rush
to my dearlittlesister, saying: ‘O Céline, give me quickly
some of the blessed bread !’ One day she had none... .
What was I to do? I could not remain deprived of it,
for I called this feast my Mass. Al! at once I conceived
a brilliant idea. ‘You have no blessed bread. Well
then, make some!’ Céline opened the cupboard, took
out the bread, cut off a morsel, and reciting over it the
Ave Maria in a solemn tone, triumphantly presented it
tome. And I, having first made the sign of the Cross,
ate it with great devotion, finding that it tasted exactly
like blessed bread.”’?

Thus, in every circumstance, in the simplest actions

1 Letter to Pauline, November 8, 1876, reproduced in part
in Histoire d’une Ame, ch. i, p. 14.
2 Histotre d'une Ame, ch. i, p. 14.

56 ST THERESE DE ‘L’ENFANT JESUS

as well as in religious rites, we find the soul of this child
penetrated with sentiments of piety which fostered in
her respect for the things of God.

We have passed in review some outstanding examples
of religious courage and devotion, given by the parents
to their children from their very infancy. The force of
good example would not, it is true, have influenced
Thérése so powerfully had not these loved ones who
watched over her with such solicitude surrounded her
at the same time with love. It was by love that they
developed divine charity within her to so high a degree—
charity urging her to sacrifice and even to death.

In all Mme Martin’s dealings with her daughters,
tenderness was governed by virility of character. Hers
was that strength of will which would never, for any
consideration, foster a dangerous disposition in her
children. On the other hand she was ready, when
occasion offered, to shower upon them the sweetest and
most touching marks of attachment.

She has alluded, herself, to the loving condescension
which she showed to the childish desires of Thérése. .

“She. will not go up the stairs alone,”’ she writes,
‘without calling out at each step ‘Mama! Mama!’ An-
other step, another cry of ‘Mama!’ And if, by chance,
I forget to reply at each call ‘ Yes, my little child !’ she
remains there without moving a single step.’”!

On the part of her father, we see examples of even more
demonstrative affection. The moment he returns from
business, Thérése runs to him, throws her arms around
him, and unceremoniously seats herself on his foot.
Her delight is then to have herself carried along, mounted
in this way. Mme Martin smilingly reproaches her
husband for complying with every wish of Thérése.
* Well, after all,” he says, “‘is she not the Queen?” And

1 Letter of Mme Martin, quoted in the Histoire d’une Ame,
ch. ipo: a

GROWING VIRTUE OF THERESE 57

he forthwith takes her in his arms, seats her on his
shoulder, embraces her, and showers upon her every
mark of tenderness.

This upbringing by love, where the thought of God
and the desire to please Him above all held so large a
place, had no hurtful influence on the development of
the normal qualities of Thérése. Grace perfected nature,
without destroying it. Like all children of her years,
she loved play; not the more violent open-air pastimes,’
but indoor amusements, for which she was well pro-
vided with a varied collection of playthings, toy-carriages,
dolls of different models, and ribbons to adorn them.

She was delighted with a box of delicious bonbons
which her uncle and aunt in Lisieux sent her on the
occasion of a baptism. When afterwards someone
spoke in her presence about the wealth of a rich proprietor,
she clapped her hands and exclaimed that she preferred
her aunt’s present to all the lands of this potentate.

But beyond everything else, before her toys and even
cakes, she preferred flowers: garden flowers whose rich
colours filled her eyes with delight, flowers of the field
above all, for her inborn love of subdued elegance and
delicate beauty found its counterpart in the simple and too
often unappreciated charms, the unobtrusive radiance
and graceful formation of wild blossoms.

In her innocent soul were springing up and blossoming
forth, promiscuously perhaps, these thoughts so beauti-
fully expressed by a recent poet in the lines which we
give here in paraphrase: ‘

“Flowers of the meadows and woods, mountain
blossoms and sweet water-flowers that are rocked to sleep
by the song of the reeds. And you fair buds that bloom
within orchard walls vieing with the butterflies in your
tints of white and red. Flowers clothed in the purple
of evening; golden and azure blossoms forming mystic

1 She liked the open-air exercise of the swing, but this taste
seems to have been an exception.

58 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

censers, as you spread perfume from your white corollas.
Gentle-faced flowers, and flowers with eyes of blue,
heather blossoms which seem a bright reflection of the
sunset on the steep hillside slopes. Primrose and lily,
first-fruits of the spring, silver daisies that deck the fields
with stars. Flower of the Gauls, vervain that gave to
our ancestors the mystic portents of the future. The
limpid stream waters you with its rippling wavelets—the
virgin soil doth nourish your deep-set roots. For good
and for bad, for all, you exhale your perfume, sweet
sisters, God’s own flowers of the fields !’”

Thus it was a red-letter day for Céline and Thérése
when M. Martin brought them to the “ Pavillon.” It
stood on the outskirts of the town, a small house, quaint
with its rustic furniture, surrounded by a large garden
where, during the summer months, strawberries, currants,
geraniums, and beautiful deep-coloured roses abounded.
Thérése returned home laden with enormous bouquets,
formed not so much of the roses from the “ Pavillon ” as
of daisies, buttercups, and wild poppies, gathered here
and there along the paths. She seems to have under-
stood, even at this early age, the symbolism of flowers
offered in token of love. And so, in surrounding with
wild flowers the statue of the Blessed Virgin, held in such
honour in the home, or St Joseph’s image before which
her mother was wont to kneel, she intends to signify the
oblation of her soul and her life. At all events, she never
prayed more fervently than in the oratory prepared for
the “‘ month of Mary.” Her eldest sister assures us of
this in convincing language. “It is quite a ceremony,”
she writes to Pauline, “‘ this preparation for the ‘ month of
Mary.” Mama is so very particular about it, more par-
ticular than the Blessed Virgin herself. She wants haw-

1 Henry Thédenat, Quelques vers, p. 19: Paris, Jouve.

2 The statue thus honoured was that before which Mme
Martin had already obtained an extraordinary favour, and which
was afterwards to become lifelike and smile on Thérése.

GROWING VIRTUE OF THERESE 59

thorn branches reaching to the ceiling, the walls decorated
with evergreens, etc.... Thérése is in wonderment
at it all. Every morning she goes bounding with glad-
ness there to say her prayers. If you knew how frolicsome
and ingenious she is. I have a wonderful admiration for
this little ‘ bouquet.’ Everyone in the house showers
affection on her.’’!

Not alone had Thérése retained, under the action of
divine grace, her childlike candour and grace of manner,
but she was remarkable for the charming spontaneity
of her language and the originality of her lively repartee,
which showed itself from time to time in racy and piquant
phrases. One morning Céline was tormenting her
father to bring her and 'Thérése to the “‘ Pavillon,’’ as he
had done the evening before. In a half-jesting, half-
serious tone, M. Martin said: ‘‘ Are youjoking ? Doyou
imagine that I can bring you there every day ?” Thérése
was over in a corner amusing herself with a little wand
and seemingly quite occupied with her toy. Suddenly
she turned with a nonchalant air: ‘“‘ Oh, we need not
flatter ourselves with the notion that papa will bring us
there every day !”? Céline hung down her head, and
““ papa ”’ laughed heartily.

This atmosphere of tender affection, where the child-
hood of Thérése passed quietly amidst prayer, innocent
amusement, and family love, contributed, as we know,
to develop her spirituality; but although we have on her
own testimony that she was not really spoiled by her
parents, still self-love, which, as a consequence of original
sin, has root in the souls of all, even the predestined, was
sometimes to make itself felt in her virginal nature.

Thérése recognized these attempts, weak and fleeting
attempts, yet sufficiently distinct to leave an imprint

1 Unpublished letter.
2 Unpublished letter of Mme Martin to Pauline, October,
1876.

60 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

on her memory, which, in her humility, she has noted
in the Histoire d'une Ame.

About the age of three she had some fits of the wayward
stubbornness so usual at that age. Her mother mentions
this without extenuation, but without disquietude,
recognizing in Thérése the good qualities which are its
corrective. ‘‘ My little Céline,” she writes,‘‘ is altogether
inclined to virtue; it is in every fibre of her being. Sheis
the soul of candour and has an instinctive horror of evil.

‘* As to the ‘ little ferret,’ not much can yet be predicted
about her; she is still so young, so heedless. She has a
remarkable intellect and a heart of gold; she is very
affectionate too, and absolutely frank. It is quaint to
see her running after me to make her confession: ‘ Mama,
I have pushed Céline once and I hit her once, but I will
not do it again.’ And so for everything she does.’’!

In spite of the precaution of the parents, who, while
tenderly loving this child, never overlooked her slightest
unruly caprice, Thérése appears in a few rare instances
as aspoiledchild. But what touching regrets make amends
for this momentary forgetfulness; with what promptitude
the fault is atoned for! Let us hear her own words:

“TI recall perfectly one day, when I was amusing
myself on the swing, my father who was just passing by
said to me: ‘ Come and kiss me, little queen.’ Contrary
to my usual custom, I would not stir, but replied in a
defiant tone: ‘ Come yourself, papa!’ He very rightly
did not listen to me. Marie was present at the time.
* Bold little one !’ she said to me, ‘ how naughty to answer
papa in that manner.’ Immediately I got down from
that ill-fated swing; the lesson had gone home. The
whole house resounded with my cries of contrition; I
climbed the stairs in all haste, not calling ‘ Mama’ now
at each step; I thought only of finding papa and of being
reconciled to him, which was speedily accomplished.’”?

1 Letter to Pauline, May 14, 1876.
2 Histoire d'une Ame, ch. i, p. 10.

GROWING VIRTUE OF THERESE 61

The same, or an almost similar, scene was repeated be-
tween Thérése and her mother. Mme Martin herself
recounts it. “The other day I wished to embrace
Thérész before going downstairs, but she appeared to be
sound asleep. I would not risk awakening her, and was
turning away when Marie said ‘ Mama, I am sure she is
only pretending to be asleep.’ Hearing this, I bent
down to kiss her; but she immediately hid herself
under the coverlet, saying, with the air of a spoiled
child, ‘I don’t want anyone to look at me.’ I was
not in the least pleased, and took care to make her
realize it. :

“Two minutes afterwards I heard her crying, and soon,
to my great surprise, found her at my side. She had got
out unaided from the cot, had come down the stairs
with bare feet, tripping over her nightdress, which was
too long for her; her little face was wet with tears. ‘Mama,’
she said, throwing herself down at my knees, ‘I have
been naughty; forgive me.’ Pardon was quickly granted.
I took the little cherub in my arms, pressed her to my
heart, and covered her with kisses.””! Would we not be
tempted to say “‘ Happy fault which is atoned for by so
touching a reparation ’’?

The child adopted the practice, from her earliest years, _
of making known even involuntary little accidents of
which she might have been the cause. Let us hear her
mother speak on this subject:

** As soon as she has done the slightest thing out of
the way everybody must know about it. Yesterday,
having quite accidentally torn a little corner of the wall-
paper, she got into a pitiable state. ‘Then papa must
be told as soon as possible. When he came back, four
hours afterwards, everyone had forgotten about it; but
she ran to Marie and said, ‘Tell papa quickly that I
have torn the paper.’ She stood there like a criminal
awaiting sentence, but she has the idea in her little

1 Letter to Pauline, February 13, 1877.

62 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

head that pardon will come more easily if she accuses
herself?”"?

Not content with accusing herself, she makes an effort
to repair the harm done, and this by means so quaint
and simple as to draw an indulgent smile from her parents
and redoubled tenderness from all.

One day she broke a little vase which her mother had
given her. Immediately, as was her custom, she came
to show what she had done, and, seeing the look of dis-
pleasure on her mother’s face, she commenced to cry.
A moment afterwards she came to her and said: “* Do not
be vexed, little mother; when I earn money of my own,
I promise I will buy you another.” And Mme Martin
adds in her letter to Pauline: ‘“‘ As you can see, I shall
have to wait some time for it !’’?

Notwithstanding these little clouds, everything con-
tributed to the joy of Thérése. Her intelligence, her
animation and charming grace of manner became every
day more attractive. Her highly developed piety was, all
unknown to herself, drawing wonder from those around
her. But what solidity could be guaranteed to virtue,
developing as hers now was, amid the smiles of her
parents and sisters, scarcely interrupted by occasional
gentle reprimands? Might not all her acts of devotion,
now sustained by a mother’s watchful love, be checked
by any discouragement? Divine Providence must guide
the future.

In order to increase and grow strong, Thérése’s infant
piety required, like every other, the fortifying influence of
trial. God, in His immutable design, early bestowed on
her this chastening influence to such an extent that she
could write later, she who, as a child, had been so fondled

1 Letter of Mme Martin to Pauline, May 21, 1876.

* See unpublished letter of May 14, 1876: Archives of the
Martin family.

-

GROWING VIRTUE OF THERESE 63

and caressed: “‘ The Cross has never, from my cradle,
ceased to accompany me.”

To the little attacks of illness and physical suffering,
borne smilingly without a word of complaint, Thérése
felt already the need of adding voluntary privations.
Marie had brought from the Visitation Convent a special
chaplet, used amongst the boarders to count their acts of
virtue. Each bead was movable, and could be separated
a space from the rest; every act of self-sacrifice was
marked by moving on a bead. She gave Céline and
Thérése each a chaplet. From this time onward Thérése
was to be seen, almost all day, with the chaplet in her
hand, moving forward a bead for every tiny sacrifice
that she succeeded in accomplishing.

The two little sisters encouraged each other un-
ceasingly to renew these sacrifices. They called their
acts of virtue “ practices,” so that in their conversation,
and even at their games, there was continual question of
“* practices.”

One day, as they were having a very earnest discussion
on this point in their garden of rue Saint Blaise, their
mysterious conversation aroused the curiosity of a neigh-
- bour who leaned out of the window in a vain attempt to
understand their meaning. Finally she stole down
quietly to the maid to ask her what were these “‘ practices ”
which seemed so deeply to interest the children.’

This indiscreet step did not prevent either Céline or
Thérése from reverting on every occasion to their favourite
discussion. Of small importance, however, is more
talk about these little privations, or even noting their
number. The acquisition of solid durable virtue was the
real end directing all.

Soon it became evident that Thérése was not counting
her chaplet in vain. ‘ How happy I was at this time!”
she declared afterwards. ‘ Not only did I begin to enjoy
life, but virtue had for me a real’charm. I had then,

1 Mme Martin alludes to this in one of her letters.

64 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

I think, the same dispositions as now; I exercised already
great control over all my actions. Thus I had acquired —
the habit of refraining from complaint when anything
belonging to me was taken away; also when accused
unjustly I preferred rather to remain silent than to offer
excuse. In this there was no merit on my part; I simply
acted naturally.”

These ‘‘ natural’ actions were none the less con-
sciously done for God, since, according to her mother,
the child “‘ put her hand in her pocket a hundred times a
day to move forward a bead on her chaplet every time
she had practised a mortification.” But they were
accomplished so easily and sweetly as to leave no doubt
that the “‘ little sprite ”’ lived under the continual guidance
of the Holy Spirit.

Her love of wild flowers is already known. One
Sunday, when she had spent the afternoon in the country
gathering cornflowers, daisies, and buttercups in abun-
dance, she returned home, glowing with delight, and set
herself to arrange in clusters her wealth of blossoms.
Her grandmother, Mme Martin, too old to realize certain
delicate attractions of child-nature, claimed the flowers
to decorate a little altar erected in the house. Poor
Thérése felt the tears welling to her eyes, but controlled
herself so well that only Céline, who knew her intimately,
perceived her emotion; she gave away her dear flowers
one by one to the very last.?

In further ways, too, Thérése was to find that, in order
to please fully her divine Lord, the mere adoption of a
certain round of practices did not suffice; she must show
herself ready toaccept gladly His good pleasure in allthings.

A little incident which took place at this time is referred
to later, as symbolizing the spontaneous and whole-

1 Histoire d’une Ame, ch. i, p. 16.
* Cf. R. P. Carbonel, Histoire de Sainte Thérése de l’Enfant

Jésus pour les enfants (Eng. trans., Little Thérése, Burns, Oates
and Washbourne).

GROWING VIRTUE OF THERESE Leog

hearted acceptation of God’s will in all things. This
early recognition of the importance of generosity with
our Divine Lord grew afterwards to be the keynote of
all her virtue.

“One day,’’ she writes, ‘‘ Léonie, realizing, I suppose,
that she was now too old to play with dolls, came to us
(Céline and myself) with a basket full of dolls’ dresses,
pretty bits of cloth, trimmings, etc. Placing her doll
on the top of these, she said to us: ‘ Here, little sisters,
choose for yourselves.’ Céline looked, and chose a ball
of silk braid. After a moment’s consideration, I put
forward my hand and said ‘I choose everything.’ And
I carried off basket and doll without further ceremony.

““My whole life could be summed up in this little
incident of my childhood. Later, when I realized what
was meant by perfection, I understood that in order to
become a saint, great sufferings must be endured, all
thought of self must be put aside—in a word, the most
perfect must be sought in all. I realized that there are
in holiness many degrees, that each soul is free to corre-
spond with the advances of Our Lord, to do little or great
things for His love, to choose between the sacrifices that
he asks. Then, as in my childhood days, I cried out :‘ My
God, I choose all! I do not wish to be a saint by halves.
_ I am not afraid to suffer for Your sake; only one thing do
I fear—my own will. Take it from me, for I choose
everything You will.’ ’”

These generous t ndencies could only be in their
commencement in the child of four years. But, to the
grace of Christian education, and the influence of edifying
example which had so largely developed Thérése’s piety,
was now to be added the heavenly protection of her saintly
aunt, recently taken from this world, and a share in the
merit of severe physical suffering which for long months
her mother was to endure.

1 Histotre d’une Ame, ch. i, p. 15.

a

66 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

On February 24, 1877, Mme Martin received from
one of the Visitation nuns at Le Mans the following
lines: ‘‘ The life of our dear Sr Marie-Dosithée, that was
so edifying, closed this morning by a death one might
envy. She was quite conscious and preserved an
admirable calmness to the end. One evening, almost the
last before her death, she said to our mother: ‘O Mother,
I have no other thoughts but of love, trust, and abandon-
ment. Help me to thank God for it all.’

‘* We can say that we have now another protectress in
heaven, for it would be difficult to find a more saintly
ending to a holier life.’’?

Sustained in her great sorrow by this hope, Mme
Martin induced her children,and more especially 'Thérése,
to implore the protection of their aunt, now, she believed,
among the blessed in heaven. Through the intercession
of her dear sister, joined to that of the Holy Virgin Mary,
she hoped for a miracle of which she personally stood
in need.

In her early years she had hurt herself so severely
against the corner of a table as to cause a permanent
swelling in her breast. This had not been very painful
in the beginning, but developed in time into a fibrous
tumour. Without a word of complaint, never inter-
rupting her fatiguing work, or failing in a single duty to
her family or her religion, Mme Martin had for sixteen
years felt this malady doing its fatal work. The time
came when intense pain made it no longer possible to
hide her condition from her family. They immediately
took her to a doctor in Alencgon, M. Prévost. For the
sake of form he began to write a prescription. ‘‘ Of what
use will it be ?” asked Mme Martin. ‘The doctor, looking
at her, said in a low voice, “‘ It is useless; I give it to
please patients.”

In spite of this, M. Isidore Guérin recommended an

* Cited by Mme Martin in an unpublished letter to her
brother, February 26, 1877.

GROWING VIRTUE OF THERESE 67

operation. For this end he took his sister to an experi-
enced medical man in Lisieux, who declared that it was
now too late.

Given up by the doctors, having no other prospect
than death in the midst of terrible suffering, this coura-
geous Christian returned to Alencon, took up again her
ordinary round of life, having no other thought but to
persevere unfailingly and unostentatiously in duty, to
the end.

On her return home she wrote to her sister-in-law:
“You are really causing yourself too much anxiety on
my account; you put me toshame byit. I donot deserve
that people should be so concerned about me; my life
is not so precious.”’!

She gave up, however, her lace industry, well knowing
that she would never enjoy the leisure thus acquired.
She resigned herself to the inevitable with barely ex-
pressed regret. ‘“‘I have given up in good earnest my
point d’Alengon and now begin to live on my income.
All things considered, I believe it is time. My greatest |
fear is that I shall not enjoy my retreat for long, although
I can say that it has cost me dear.’’?

The image of death had become familiarto her. She
looked it unflinchingly in the face, although it seemed to
her that she would still be of use in this world in order
to finish the education of her children now that her sister
was gone. Once more she began to cherish the hope
that, by the all-powerful help of the Queen of heaven,
and the intercession of her dear Visitandine, a pilgrimage
to Lourdes would restore her to health. She wrote to
her daughter Pauline: ‘‘ It was about ten or fifteen days
after your aunt’s death that, rightly or wrongly, this con-
fidence which I cannot explain entered my mind, and
with it a great desire to live for another few years in order
to bring up my children.’’?

1 Unpublished letter to her sister-in-law, January 28, 1877.

2 Ibid., May 10, 1877. 8 Unpublished letter, May 13, 1877.

68 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

A pilgrimage to Lourdes from the diocese of Angers
was organized for June 18, 1877. Mme Martin, with
her three daughters, Marie, Pauline, and Leonie, suc-
ceeded in being enrolled amongst the pilgrims. “ The
trouble and expense are considerable,’ she wrote;
“but if I obtain the favour so greatly desired, I
shall not be paying too dear for it. Moreover, it seems
to me that the greater the sacrifices I shall make, the
more disposed will the Blessed Virgin be to hear our
prayer.’’?

Her chief reason for taking the children was the hope
which she placed in their fervent prayers, for with
unparalleled faith they prepared to besiege the Im-
maculate Mother by their supplications.

The journey was more fatiguing than had been anti-
cipated. Overwhelming heat, unsuitable food, and the
difficulty of finding proper sleeping accommodation in
Lourdes all contributed to weaken the invalid.

The visits to the piscina were without success. On her
return home she wrote to her relatives in Lisieux: “ I
was immersed four times in the piscina, the last time two
hours before we set out for home. I was in the icy water
above my shoulders, but did not find it so cold as in the
morning. I remained there over a quarter of an hour,
hoping all the time that the Blessed Virgin would cure me.
While actually in the water I felt no pain, but once out,
the stinging recommenced as usual.

“For your sake I would have been doubly happy to be
cured. Alas! the Holy Virgin has said to us as to Berna-
dette: ‘1 will make you happy, not in this world but in
the next," ""*

Strong in this hope, the courageous pilgrim set out on
her homeward way, joining heartily in the hymns of the
pilgrimage, while her daughters remained silent with
grief and distress. But, on reaching Normandy, she

* Unpublished letter to her sister-in-law, May 29, 1877.
2 Ibid,, June 24, 1877.

GROWING VIRTUE OF THERESE 69

broke down, and was forced to admit that the journey
had increased her malady. Her husband, with Céline
and Thérése, was awaiting her at the station. He had
passed an anxious week, hoping every day for the good
news that never came. He was grief-stricken, and the
little ones were astonished to find that the Blessed Virgin
had not hearkened to their innocent prayers. M. Martin
was, as his wife tells us, surprised to see her come back
as happy as if she had obtained her desired favour.
“That,” she added, ‘“‘reanimated his courage and
restored the good spirits of all.’

This attitude of the sufferer was adopted out of pure
charity towards her family. To her daughter Pauline,
whose solid foundation in virtue was well known to her,
and whom, on that account, she wished to train in un-
wayering acceptance of trial, she confided her real
thoughts. ‘‘ I wish to know,” she writes to her, ‘‘ what
your present frame of mind is, whether you are still

- wroth with the Blessed Virgin because she has not made
_ you ‘leap for joy.’ Do not hope for much happiness

on this earth; you would meet with too many disappoint-

' ments. For my part, I know by experience the fickle-

ness of earthly joy ; if my hopes were not centred on heaven

_ I should indeed be unhappy.’’?

Nevertheless, in order to bring consolation to her loved
ones and to sustain her own courage, the poor mother
still continued to pray for a miracle. She greatly desired
to see once more the dear family in Lisieux, always so
affectionately helpful to her. She even planned to bring
some of her daughters with her. ‘Telling her sister-in-law
of the children’s longing to accompany her, she added:
“The smallest is the most eager of them all. She
will remember all her life that she was left behind at
Alengon two years ago; when she refers to it, the
tears come to her eyes immediately. She is a charming

1 Unpublished letter to Pauline, June 25, 1877.
2 Ibid,

"0 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

little creature, my Thérése; I assure you that she will
succeed.””4

The poor child who feared that she would not be taken
to Lisieux did not foresee the cruel necessity which would
soon constrain her to this journey.

Mercilessly the dread malady progressed. June and
July were months of intolerable suffering. No sleep or
calm, not a moment’s respite for the poor invalid on her
bed of pain, where she passed part of her days. She
realized fully the gravity of her condition, and with that
faith which had been the guiding light and the mainstay
of her life, she prepared for the inevitable. ‘‘ I have made
up my mind to it,” she writes, ‘‘ and am trying to prepare
for death. I must not lose a moment of the short space
which I have yet to live. These are days of salvation
which will never return; I must, then, profit by them.’’?

In order to secure in an especial manner the grace of
final perseverance, and to give even to the end a living
example of devotion to religious duty, she made a final
painful effort to be present at Mass in the parish church
on the first Friday of August. At each step she felt as
if her neck were being pierced by a stiletto. Agonizing
pains all down her right side obliged her several times
to stand still. She persevered in spite of all. In this
condition of suffering she assisted at her last Mass,
and from the Sacrifice of Calvary renewed on the altar
drew courage to face the final combat.

The following weeks saw the gradual decline of the
poor body sinking beneath the ravages of an implacable
malady.

It was not thought well that the two youngest children,
Céline and Thérése, should witness these scenes of
suffering; those two whom the devoted mother had, up
to the last, tended with loving care. It was decided

* Unpublished letter to her sister-in-law, July 8, 1877.
2 Ibid., July 15, 1877.

GROWING VIRTUE OF THERESE ie

that they be taken to a friend’s house each day. On this
subject we will consult Thérése’s memoirs.

“* Céline and I were like two poor little exiles. Every
morning Mme X. came for us, and we spent the day
at her house. Once, when we had not time to say our
prayers before starting, Céline whispered to me on the
way, ‘ Shall we tell that we have not said our prayers °’
“Oh, yes,’ I replied. Timidly she confided her trouble
to this lady, who immediately replied: ‘ Well, my little
ones, you shall say them.’ Then, leaving us in a large
room, she went away. Céline looked at me stupefied;
I was no less amazed, and exclaimed: ‘ Ah, that is no
what mama would have done; she always helped us to
say our prayers.’

“In spite of the distractions which they endeavoured
to provide for us during the day, our thoughts were
ever returning to our dear mother. I remember once
when Céline was given a delicious apricot, her leaning
towards me and saying, ‘ We wil! not eat it, we will give
it to mama.’ Alas! our poor mama was now too ill to
eat the fruits of this earth. She was never more to be
satiated except by the glory of God in heaven, when she
would drink with Jesus the mystic wine of which He
spoke at His last supper, promising to share it with us
in the kingdom of His Father.’’+

One last earthly joy was yet in store for this mother who
was so anxious about the proper education of her children.
Marie had continued to act as instructress to Céline and
Thérése; and at the commencement of vacation, know-
ing the encouragement that would result for her little
pupils, and also in order to bring some consolation to
her parents, she conceived the idea of imitating at home a
school distribution of prizes. We have a description
of the little scene in a letter to her aunt at Lisieux. “ I
assure you it was quite a pretty sight. I had decorated
my room with garlands of vinca, intermingled with

1 Histoire d’une Ame, ch. ii, p. 19.

72 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

bouquets of roses. Wreaths of flowers hung from the
ceiling. The rostrum was covered with cloth, and two
armchairs were in readiness for the presidents of ‘ the
august ceremony,’ Monsieur and Madame Martin. —

“ Yes, mama also took part in our distribution of prizes.
Our two little girls were in white, and you should see with
what a triumphant air they came up to receive their
books and wreaths. Papa and mama gave out the prizes,
and I, of course, called forward my pupils.’’*

This was the last gleam of happiness before Death
made a break in the family circle. Mme Martin went
from the president’s chair to her bed of suffering. Eight
days later she writes: ‘‘ My strength is at an end... .
If the Holy Virgin does not cure me, then my term of life
is over; God wills that I find my resting-place elsewhere
than on this earth.’’? .

This last message to her brother at Lisieux was dated
August 16. On the 26th, Holy Viaticum was judged
necessary. MM. Martin had the courage to go himself to
the church, and to accompany to and from the house the
Divine Saviour, who came to fortify the dying mother in
her last journey. The holy Unction, with its saving effects
of purification and renewal in grace, was administered
to the departing soul. Thérése was present; she knew
that a solemn separation was soon to take place, but she
realized that by the mercy of the Almighty her heroic
mother would not leave her for ever by returning
to God.

“The touching ceremony of Extreme Unction,” she
writes, “has left a lasting impression on my mind. I
see again the spot where they placed me on my knees,
I hear once more the sobs of our poor father.’”?

1 Unpublished letter of August 9, 1877.
* Unpublished letter to her brother, August 16, 1877.
3 Histoire d’une Ame, ch. ii, p. 20.

GROWING VIRTUE OF THERESE 73

The soul thus prepared broke its bonds August 28,
1877, half an hour after midnight. She had passed here
below forty-six years of toil and trial, which give every
ground for hope that she enjoyed the eternal peace of
heaven after her death.

Before her mortal remains disappeared for ever from
the eyes of Thérése, M. Martin took the little one in his
arms. “Come,” he said, ‘‘ and kiss your dear mother
for the last time.” And without uttering a word, the
orphan touched with her lips the icy-cold forehead of the
dead.

This little child, hitherto so lively and laughter-loving,
so full of the joy of living, seemed transformed and
suddenly matured by the terrible vision of death. She
shed no tear; she looked on and listened in silence, but
understood everything. She had been left by herself
for a moment, and, while alone, was confronted with the
sight of the coffin lying in the corridor. She had never
seen one before. Instead of fleeing at the sight, she
contemplated the dismal object sadly for several moments,
raising her head to examine its form more closely, and to
familiarize herself with this narrow bed, the last resting-
place of poor crumbling humanity.

After the religious ceremonies in the Church of Notre-
Dame the family returned home plunged in sorrow.
“The whole five of us,” says Thérése, “ stood together
in a group mutely gazing at one another in our grief.
The maid seeing us thus was moved to compassion, and,
turning to Céline and myself, she exclaimed: ‘ Poor little
children, you have no longer a mother.’ Then Céline,
throwing herself into Marie’s arms, cried: ‘ It is you who
will be mama for us now.’ And I, accustomed as I was
to follow Céline in everything, would also have imitated
this action, so beautifully appropriate, but I thought that
Pauline would perhaps feel sorrowful and forsaken,

1 Mme Martin’s daughters, now nuns, remember still the
expression of unearthly serenity on her countenance.

74. ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

having no little daughter. I looked up at her tenderly,
and leaning my little head on her heart, I said: ‘ As for
me, Pauline will be my mama ’.’’+

The child of four and a half years was far from realizing
to what an extent this chosen sister was to prove a
mother to her, what a spiritual guide God was preparing
for her in the person of Pauline.

The two elder sisters made every effort to show their
earnest acceptation of the delicate duty entrusted to them
in order to lighten for the two little ones the cloud of
sorrow that had come upon their home.

The days following the burial were full of desolation
and sadness. The grief-stricken family went out only
to visit the cemetery. M. Martin was winding up his
commercial affairs; his time was occupied by these and
other cares of the same kind. What was to become of
his orphan children, more especially the two youngest,
now deprived of a mother’s guiding hand ?

Friends at Alengon and elsewhere proffered advice,
and offered their help regarding the education of the
children. M. Martin thanked them, but could not
reconcile his rigid principles with their suggestions.

He remembered then that during her last agony,
being no longer able to utter a word, his wife had turned
to her sister-in-law with a long look of mute appeal, as
though to confide to her the care of her children, and that
Mme Guérin had promised to be a mother to them. He
resolved to accept the kindly offer of his friends in
Lisieux.

The sacrifice was bitter; he had to bid adieu to all the
old associations, to friends of his childhood, to his
“* Pavillon,” to every cherished custom and time-honoured

1 'Thérése in thus acting was unknowingly directed by a
prophetic action of her dying mother, who, seeing Pauline by
the bedside, had taken her hand with respect and kissed it.
She seemed, by this action, to entrust her with the office of
mother, which she was to fulfil during her whole life.

GROWING VIRTUE OF THERESE 75

habit. Above all, he had to leave his beloved graves.
He did not hesitate, however, but asked his brother-in-
law, M. Guérin, to look out for a house at Lisieux which
would be large enough for him and his family.

On September 10, following, a suitable residence was
found. ‘The necessary preparations were quickly accom-
plished. M. Martin remained behind at Alencon for a
time, to settle some matters of business, but during the
first fortnight of November he took his daughters to their
new home selected by M. Guérin, which bore the pleasing
name of ‘‘ Les Buissonnets.’’?

1M. Martin himself was buried at Lisieux in 1894, and
M. Guérin, in order to re-unite all together in the one grave,
had the remains of Mme Martin, of her little deceased children,
and of the two grandparents, M. Guérin and Mme Martin,
brought from Alengon to the cemetery of Lisieux.

2 'The house was then as we see it today: red brick, mouldings,
cornices, and carved wood, as shown by a painting done at that
time. ‘The only change made later was to clear a space to the
right and provide an additional exit for the convenience of
pilgrims.

CHAPTER IV

LISIEUX—LES BUISSONNETS

ISIEUX, a group of picturesque steep-roofed
houses, dominated by the bold spire and severe
facade of a towering Gothic cathedral; a quiet
retreat for the wood-carvers of Normandy, whose fine
arabesques and fantastic monsters are displayed on the
worm-eaten doors and window frames along the sides
of the narrow streets; a melancholy little town in spite
of its verdant surroundings and gaily-coloured flower
gardens—such was to be henceforward the retreat of
the Martin family after their great bereavement at
Alengon.

The children’s first impression on their arrival was
one of sadness. Besides the fact that they carried
everywhere with them the thought of their dear one
departed, the smoke-blackened porches of Lisieux with
their grimacing figures, the high factory chimneys
covered with a pall of thick smoke, contrasted unfavourably
to them with the pretty, attractive homes of Alencon.

Little Thérése alone left the house in the rue Saint
Blaise without regret, and she accuses herself of this
later where she naively says “‘ Children love change.”
Moreover, the welcoming smiles that awaited her at her
uncle’s house kept her from remarking the rather depress-
ing appearance of the old city.

M. Guérin’s house, a high, solidly constructed build-
ing of the old type, stood at the corner of the Grande-Rue
and what is now called ‘Place Thiers.”

With the master of the house we are already acquainted ;

76

LISIEUX—-LES BUISSONNETS sigh

some further traits will help to complete the sketch
previously outlined.

M. Guérin, who at this time still conducted a flourish-
ing pharmacy, was a man of medium height and dis-
tinguished demeanour, a man whose keen look, decisive
manner, and equally decisive speech, betokened unfailing
honesty and uprightness. Imbued with the best tradi-
tions of Christianity, endowed with an open and vigorous
mind, he had early extended his studies beyond the circle
of technical knowledge required for his profession, ; and
had become so well versed in religious matters as to prove
on occasion a formidable polemical opponent of the
Church’s enemies. He had, moreover, a heart of un-
changeable devotedness, as easily touched as it was con-
stant in its friendship.

With her tender, affectionate nature, her readiness to
lend an ever helping hand, Mme Guérin was the un-
obtrusive but warming ray of sunshine in this grave and
somewhat austere household. A descendant of one of
those thoroughly religious families, which had given
priests and even martyrs‘ to the Church, Céline Fournet
became, as we know, the intimate friend of her sister-in-
law, and her promise to prove a mother to Mme Martin’s
children had cheered the last moments of the dying
woman. But she counted especially on the loving-kind-
ness of her daughters Marie and Jeanne to bring a ray
of joy to the hearts of her youngest nieces now so pitifully
left orphans.

The welcome given to the children was tender in its
sincerity. Mme Guérin with her daughters stood at
the door to receive the five exiles as they came accom-
panied by their uncle to the house. Thérése must
naturally have felt the least at home since it was her first

1 She was a relation of Thomas-Jean Monsaint, one time
parish priest of Orbec-en-Auge, afterwards of Saint Roch,
Paris, who was massacred at the Abbey on September 2, 1792.
Cf. Joseph Grente, Les Martyrs de Septembre 1792 a& Paris.

78 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

time in Lisieux, but her aunt’s caresses soon brought a
smile to the timid little face.

After a quiet night’s rest the orphan children were
taken to their new home.

From the Pont L’Evéque road, on the east of Lisieux,
we ascend by a rugged, winding path to a dwelling
situated midway on the slopes of a hill. The town with
its tiers of steep-roofed houses and its grey steeples
spreads below. This is the house called Les Buisson-
nets. A pleasant home, nestling amidst a wealth of
foliage and commanding an extensive view of the varied
landscape, it joined the advantages of comfort to its rural
situation. In front spread a smiling little lawn studded
with trees; at the back was a sufficiently large garden
surrounded by an ivy-grown wall. No other sound
broke the stillness save the clear notes of the nightingale
from the lilac hedges or the shrill symphony of the
crickets in the newly mown hay.

The sight of this dwelling surrounded by the fresh
foliage of fir and ash trees in sombre bloom was for
Thérése a real joy. But even this could only lighten in
small measure the abiding impressions of sorrow left
by her great loss. ‘‘ Immediately after my mother’s
death,” she writes, ‘“my happy disposition changed
completely. I, who had been so lively, so expansive,
became timid and shy and sensitive to excess; a look
sufficed to make the tears flow; I dreaded notice; I could
not bear the company of strangers, and only recovered
my former cheerfulness in the bosom of my own family.’”!

This trial continued for several years, becoming even
more pronounced. It was alleviated for the moment
by the tenderness of the Guérin family and the charm
of that verdant home which was to be from henceforth
the scene of the “‘ little Queen’s ”’ development.

Meanwhile the house is yet without its master. But

1 Histoire d’une Ame, ch. ii, p. 22.

LISIEUX—LES BUISSONNETS 79

M. Martin was already acquainted with this little nest,
where he sought to shelter all that remained to him of his
happiness; he had paid a visit there in September before
completing arrangements with the owner. In a letter
of November 16, his daughter Marie gives her first
impressions: ‘‘ We are installed in Les Buissonnets.
It is a delightful home with a smiling and cheerful aspect
and its large garden where Thérése and Céline can enjoy
their play. Only the staircase, and also the approach
to the house, leave something to be desired.”

His daughter omitted to mention that although pleasing
in appearance it was nevertheless a very old building,
badly proportioned in construction, with very low
ceilings. She refrained above all from calling the
attention of this fervent Catholic to the long distance
which separated it from the church; but she noticed the
narrow pathway leading to Les Buissonnets; this path
which M. Martin called later ‘‘ the way to Paradise.”’

As to the rest, she promised him peace and happiness
in this quiet home. ‘‘I feel assured, dear father,” she
says, ‘“‘that you will be contented here. Yes, we will
endeavour to be so good, and to make your life so pleasant,
that you will be compensated for the great sacrifice you
have made for our welfare.’

On November 30,M. Martinarrived at Les Buissonnets.
Without further delay they organized their new home-life.

A room on the ground floor opening on the garden
at the rear of the house was given to Céline and Thérése.
It was there that the “‘ little Queen ”’ was to offer so many
innocent prayers to Jesus and his Blessed Mother.? But
later on, when she was attacked by the severe illness of
which we are soon to speak, her sister Marie brought her

1 Unpublished letter.

2 Tt is to this room that crowds of pilgrims come today, to
see in a gallery fronted with glass—formerly Léonie’s tiny room—
the little saint’s bed, the different objects that were formerly
hers, and even the toys with which she amused herself.

80 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

to her own room situated on the left front of the house
and bathed in the light that streamed in through two large
windows. It was in this room, now transformed into
an oratory, that Thérése was to contemplate the heavenly
smile of the Virgin Mother of consolation. She was to
share it with Céline after the departure of her two elder
sisters for the Carmel.

Céline, who now seemed possessed of her little sister’s
lost vivacity, was sent with Léonie as day-boarder to the
Benedictine Convent. Marie and Pauline, who remained
at Les Buissonnets, looked after the home and took charge
of Thérése’s education. The latter required to be
urged forward with spirit, for although she had in earlier
days learned her letters quickly, yet when the time came
to form these into words, at about the age of three and a
half years, she had returned to her games as if decided
to end her learning at this point. From that time onward,
it is true, she became more favourably disposed towards
her books, but this entailed constant effort.

On Pauline, for the most part, devolved the charge of
the child’s formation, a duty which she performed with
tact and devotedness.

Having kissed the little innocent face upturned to her
on awakening, she would make Thérése kneel by her
side to say her prayers. The morning was then begun
with a reading lesson. ‘The word “‘ cieux”’ was the first
that Thérése could read unaided, and she ran joyously
to announce this grand achievement to her father, who
was in the room at the top of the house called the
‘* Belvedere,” which he had chosen for himself. To this
room she came, in fact, every day after lessons to show
him the marks obtained, and to enjoy his. affectionate
recognition when it was a question of success.

M. Martin, whom sorrow had rendered prematurely
grey, had no longer any other thought but to sanctify
his remaining years by prayer, by works of charity, and
by the education of his children. Little Thérése was the

LISIEUX—-LES BUISSONNETS 81

special object of his care. After daily Mass at the
Cathedral, some time was given to working in the garden.
Long hours were devoted to meditation and reading in
the “Belvedere,” where he felt so close to heaven. Then
each day he paid a second fervent visit to our Lord in the
Tabernacle. Accompanied by Thérése, he would go
to one or other of the churches where the Blessed Sacra-
ment was reserved. It was thus the little one entered
for the first time, while as yet her sisters did not even know
of the existence of a Carmel at Lisieux, the chapel of that
monastery where nine years later she was to take the veil.

These afternoon outings were given to Thérése by
way of reward. Her teacher was as firm as she was de-
voted. She required a definite amount of study done.
If application to work was remiss, the evening walk was
irrevocably cancelled. Pauline never went back on a
decision once given, and M. Martin, at whatever cost,
always ratified her verdict.

These prohibitions made Thérése appreciate all the
more the long walks which were allowed her during the
fine season.

The child’s early preference for the simple flowers of

1 Pauline’s firmness was ever tempered by gentle affection,
as can be seen from the following incident:

One day Thérése returned hot and tired from a long walk
and much talking. ‘‘O Pauline,” she cried, ‘‘if you only
knew how thirsty Iam!’ Finding this a suitable opportunity
‘to drive home certain lessons, the elder sister suggested a
sacrifice. ‘‘ Will you deprive yourself of a drink in order to
save a sinner?” ‘“‘ Yes, Pauline,” said the little one with a
deep sigh. Evidently the sacrifice was great. Seeing, however,
that it had been accepted, Pauline, who suffered more than her
little sister from the imposed mortification, decided to bring her
a refreshing drink.

But should Thérése accept this and abandon the sinner to
perdition? Pauline hastened to reassure her by explaining
that, after having had the merit of sacrifice, she was also to have
that of obedience, thereby gaining a further chance of assisting
some soul in distress. Cf. R. P. Carbonel, op. cit.

6

82 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

the hedgerows still continued. What joy it was to her to
gambol through the thick copse amidst the woodland
flowers and wild orchids. How triumphantly she re-
turned in the evening, laden with bright-coloured bouquets
and sweet-smelling garlands to decorate her little altar
in the corner of the garden in honour of the God of
Love.

Sometimes Thérése went out with her father along
the banks of the Touques, and, with her little line, made
cunning attempts to imitate him in throwing the hook.
It was easy to see, however, that her mind was otherwise
occupied, and soon, leaving her line and hook, she would
sit down amid the flower-strewn grass. ‘‘ There,” she
writes, “‘I became immersed in deep thought, and
without even knowing what meditation meant, my soul
plunged into mental prayer. I listened’ to the distant
sounds and the murmur of the wind. At times the
music of a military band in the town reached me in faint
and undecided notes, filling my heart with a sweet
melancholy. Earth seemed to me a place of exile, and
I dreamed of heaven.”

We find expression of the same or even deeper impres-
sions when, on one occasion, a sudden storm filled the
skies with lightning flashes. ‘‘ I turned now to the left,
now to the right,” declared the little one, ‘‘ in order to
lose nothing of that brilliant spectacle. I saw a thunder-
bolt fall into a neighbouring meadow, and far from being
terrified, I was enchanted at the sight; it seemed to me
that the good God was quite near.’”?

Sometimes along the rugged paths leading to Les
Buissonnets, as well as in the streets of the town, were to
be met old men looking for alms. Thérése always went
up to them smilingly and offered the money that her
father had entrusted to her. One evening, meeting a
man who was in a particularly miserable condition, she
resolved to pray for him on the day of her first Holy

1 Histoire d'une Ame, ch. ii, p. 24. * Ibid., p. 25:

LISIEUX—LES BUISSONNETS 83

Communion, for she had heard that God grants every
favour demanded of Him on that day.

But it was especially at her own home that the gentle
child lavished her tokens of compassion on the poor
who came every Monday to Les Buissonnets. At each
sound of the bell 'Thérése went to open the garden gate.
Then, quickly returning to her sister, she would say:
“Pauline, it is a poor old crippled man. It is a poor
woman with a family of little children; one of them is
an infant in arms, and the mother looks pitifully pale.
What shall we give them?’ And deep was the pity
visible in her eyes. She ran immediately to the men-
dicants with the bread or money that had been given her,
At times she came back radiant with joy. ‘‘ Pauline,
that poor person said to me, ‘God will bless you, my
little one.’”’

The graces consequent on union with God were visibly
increasing in this ingenuous child who sought our Divine
Saviour with her whole soul. ‘“‘ As I grew up,” she
declares, ‘I loved the good God more and more, and I
frequently made Him the offering of my heart, using the
words mama had taught me.’ I strove to please Jesus
in all my actions, and I guarded with great care against
ever offending Him.’’?

She strove no less to make those around her avoid the
smallest faults. The servant, by way of fun, one day

let slip in her presence some little untruths. ‘‘ You
know well, Victoire,’ she said, ‘‘ that this offends the
good God.”

In this child of five years certain remarkable traits
wete already present, which some theologians have
attributed to mystic intuition.

All have especially remarked the impression which

1 These words ran as follows: ‘‘ My God, I give Thee my heart;
may it please Thee to accept it, so that no creature can take
possession of it but Thou alone, my good Jesus !”’

2 Histoire d’une Ame, ch. ii, p. 26.

84 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

she received when returning in the evening with her
father from M. Guérin’s house. ‘‘I well recall,’ she
says, “that I watched the stars with inexpressible
rapture. ... I noticed with especial delight one group
of golden pearls (the belt of Orion) in the vast firmament,
finding that they formed a ‘IT’, and I would say to my dear
father as we walked along: ‘ See, papa, my name is written
in heaven!’ Then, unwilling to look any longer on this
miserable earth, I would ask him to lead me, and, heedless
where I trod, would turn my little face upwards, never
-tired of contemplating the starry skies.””*

Childish perhaps this trait may be called, but place it
side by side with the statement which 'Thérése was later
to make: ‘“‘ The certitude of one day leaving this land
of darkness far behind had been given me from my
infancy. I did not merely believe this because of what
I had heard from others, but I felt even then in my heart
by intimate and certain inspiration, that another land, a
more beautiful country, would one day be my lasting
dwelling-place, just as the geniusof Christopher Columbus
inspired him with a presentiment of the New World.’”?

While waiting to call her into solitude to speak more
intimately to her heart, God revealed himself to her in
the mirror of sensible objects. In this way her walks
through the sunlit countryside, which seemed to have no
other purpose than to serve as a distraction for Thérése
and to fill her soul with joy, had their invisible and sublime
profit.

On her return from her walk, the little one set herself
to write out the exercises set by Pauline in the morning.
She then passed the remainder of the day in frolicking
around her father when she did not go with him to the
“ Belvedere,” to contemplate once more the tranquil ex-
panse of the blue firmament, where she could already
read secrets so sublime.

1 Histoire d’une Ame, ch. ii, p. 30.
S1bid., ch. ix pt 20.

LISIEUX—-LES BUISSONNETS 8 5

The Christian formation of the child was continued
in the evening when the family were gathered around a
sparkling fire in the dining-room, where even today are
the massive round table and austere-looking oak chairs
which were silent witnesses of Thérése’s early years.

After an animated game of draughts, Marie or Pauline
would take the Liturgical Year of Dom Guéranger and
read some pages relative to the ecclesiastical season or an
approaching feast. ‘They then passed on to some other
attractive and instructive reading, so that both soul and
mind had each their special nourishment.

Seated on her father’s knees, “‘ little Thérése °’ listened
attentively but quietly to everything, and when the reading
was finished, M. Martin, with his fine voice, would sing
some melodious refrain as though to lull her to sleep.

Then all went upstairs for night prayers, and Thérése,
on her knees beside her father, ‘‘ had but to look at him
to realize how the saints pray.”

Once in bed, the little one invariably asked Pauline, as
formerly she had asked her mother: ‘‘ Have I been good
today? Is the good God pleased with me? Will the
little angels come to hover round me?” The reply was
always ‘“‘ Yes’; otherwise Thérése would have passed
the night in tears.

Evenings such as these presented scenes more angelic
than earthly ; but sweeter still was the supernatural charm
of Sundays and feast-days.

Sunday, what a day of gladness for Thérése! It was
not merely the day of rest, the weekly holiday. Rather
was it the splendour of the ceremonies under the solemn
arches of the cathedral whose clear-cut linés and sober
decoration presented a chef d’awuvre of harmonious
simplicity. Above all, it was the vision of Jesus in the
Sacred Host.

At the appointed hour, the whole family went to the
High Mass and took their places in one of the chapels

86 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

at the Epistle side. This chapel being far from the
pulpit, it was necessary to change their place during the
sermon so as not to be deprived of the word of God.
Each Sunday, then, might be seen a white-haired man
holding by the hand a child of wondrously sweet coun-
tenance coming down the nave in search of a favourable
position, while her uncle, M. Guérin, seated in his church-
warden’s pew, looked on, happy, as he said himself, to see
his “‘ little ray of sunshine ”’ appear.

Thérése listened attentively to the sermon, endeavour-
ing to follow the preacher. A sermon on the Passion of
our Lord was the first she understood, and she was
vividly impressed. Her age was then five and a half
years. From that time onward she was able to grasp
and appreciate the meaning of all the instructions.

The enchantment of sacred music and divine ceremony
extended ordinarily to Compline. Asthe evening shadows
spread through the old church, Thérése reflected sadly
that this celestial dav was soon to end, and the morrow
would bring its monotonous train of work once more.
Then she dreamed of a never-ending Sunday, when the
music of heaven’s choirs would continue without in-
terruption. Everything seemed to raise her thoughts
more and more above the things of earth, and by reason
of a special grace, bring her into contact with supernatural
reality.

Sometimes, Sunday evening was spent with the Guérin
family, where each of the five sisters was received in
turn. When Thérése came Mme Guérin and the two
cousins redoubled their attentions, making special efforts
to give her pleasure, the more so because they feared that
the little one would be made to feel ill at ease by her
uncle’s serious conversation.

But the precocious development of Thérése had not
been taken into account. Not only was she not wearied,
but she listened with unsuspected eagerness to the grave
and instructive remarks of M. Guérin. Her joy was

LISIEUX—LES BUISSONNETS 87

mingled with a slight feeling of fear, when, to amuse her,
M. Guérin seated her on his knee and sang “‘ Barbe-Bleue”’
for her in a stentorian voice.

Above even the happiness of Sunday the “ Little Queen ”’
loved the gladness of the principal feasts. She welcomed
every succeeding holyday with redoubled fervour, for
Pauline had taken care to explain to her the mystery
commemorated on each festival. Especially when the
time for Blessed Sacrament processions drew near did
the soul of Thérése thrill with exultation. Other
children, it is true, are delighted with the sight of splendid
banners which reflect the azure sky, of white veils, of
beautiful lace and golden copes, all ranged in splendour
around the wayside altars on the Feast of Corpus Christi.
But none of these imposing or beautiful objects could
fully charm Thérése. Far higher went her admiration,
her homage, and more especially her loving prayers. If
she was happy in taking her place in the procession,
among the little flower-girls carrying baskets laden with
bright-tinted petals, her graceful costume or the kindness
of her amiable companions counted for nothing in her
joy. ‘“‘ What happiness,” she writes, ‘‘ to strew flowers
in the path of the good God! But before letting them
fall I threw them high in the air, and was never so happy
as when I saw my rose petals touch the sacred Mon-
strance.”’!

In-her devotion to the Blessed Virgin she gives evidence
of the same tender love. The little child of five was
thought too young to assist every evening at the May
devotions. Butthat makes no difference. She will have
a chest of drawers in her elder sisters’ room converted
into a Madonna altar, with its tiny flower vases and its
illumination consisting of wax vestas to serve as candles.
Victoire, the devoted servant, will alone form the congre-
gation at these ceremonies, of which the principal exercise
will be the recitation in common of the Memorare.

1 Histoire d’une Ame. ch. ii, p. 28,

88 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

Although the family scarcely held communication
with anyone beyond its own circle, yet the virtues of little
Thérése Martin began to attract attention.

An old lady who had often met her at the church, and
who had remarked the ecstatic expression of her coun-
tenance in presence of the Blessed Sacrament during the
processions, said to one of her neighbours: “‘ That little
one is an angel. I shall be greatly surprised if she lives
long; but if she lives, you will find that she will be spoken
of later on as a saint.”

A woman who came to work at Les Buissonnets one day
insistently pleaded to be allowed to cut off a lock of the
child’s hair, and carried it away as a treasure.

Whenever she accompanied her sisters in their walks
through the town the passers-by turned and gazed as if
fascinated, not by her physical grace, though this too was
striking, but by a supernatural charm which seemed to
radiate from her.

Withal, Thérése, who, more evidently from this time
onward, lived in the continual presence of God, had
nothing in common with those timorous devotees who,
according to St ‘Teresa of Avila, ‘‘ do not dare to stir for
fear their devotion should fly away.”

She remained full of eagerness for games suited to her
age, and the weekly holiday on Thursday was always
heartily welcomed as permitting her to resume her old
sports with Céline. ‘They gambolled around the flower-
beds in the garden, they entered into competitions of
skill in arranging bouquets, then Céline would start class
with her dolls.

Having but small attraction for dressing dolls, Thérése
willingly entrusted hers to Céline, who, having ranged
them in good order beside her own collection, gave her
little regiment a course of morals or orthography. ‘Thérése
greeted these tirades with peals of laughter; but she
applauded still more when Céline, wishing to reward one
of her speechless pupils, brought her to her sister, saying

LISIEUX—LES BUISSONNETS 89

_ to the privileged one: ‘‘ My dear child, go and kiss your
aunt.”

It was but proper that in this predestined life the simple
and artless amusements of infancy should play their part.
While giving herself daily more and more to Jesus, this
little saint of five years had her hours of exuberance,
with all the freshness and charm of early childhood.

Little Thérése had learned from Pauline that the
sacraments are the principal channels whereby Jesus
gives Himself to souls. She longed ardently to receive
nourishment from the Divine Host which she had seen
shining in the golden Monstrance. The practice then
in vogue prevented her from approaching the Sacred
Table for yet a long time; but knowing that the sacrament
of Penance must be received in preparation for Holy
Communion, she asked to be allowed at least to go to
Confession as soon as possible. She was granted this
privilege at the age of six. What was this child to tell
the priest, this candid soul which had never from the
age of three refused anything to Jesus ? In her examina-
tion of conscience she had recourse to Pauline, who told
her that she was about to speak to our Divine Saviour
Himself in the person of the priest. So convinced was
Thérése of this truth, that she asked whether she should
not in consequence say to her confessor that ‘“‘ she loved
him with all her heart.”

The confessor before whom she presented herself was
the Abbé Ducellier, then parish priest of Saint Pierre,
who, at the time of his death in 1917, was arch-priest of
the same parish. He was an ecclesiastic of grave de-
meanour, little inclined to confidences. With all this he
could not but be moved by the exceptional candour of
this angelic soul. After having heard her confession,
wherein he found great difficulty in discerning real faults,
he exhorted her with fervent words to imitate the Queen

go ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

of Virgins. Then, in conformity with the practice of the
time, he gave her simply a blessing.

Thérése was so small that she had to stand in the
confessional. She succeeded, however, in passing her
rosary through the grating to have it blessed, and came out
radiant with happiness. It was dark outside, and Thérése
stopped beneath a street lamp and examined curiously the
rosary that had just been given back to her.

‘“‘ What are you looking at, Thérése ?”’ asked Pauline.

‘“‘ | want to see what a blessed rosary is like,” she said.

From that time onward she sought more than ever to
please Jesus, in order to prepare for him in her soul a
choice dwelling for the day when it would please him to
come there in his corporeal presence.

She was seven years of age when the time came for
Céline, then a day-boarder at the Benedictine Abbey,
to prepare for her first Holy Communion. During the
intervals of school-hours, Pauline undertook her remote
preparation. ‘Thérése was admitted to the first instruc-
tions, and she listened, eager to prepare her soul already for
the great day which she had wished to bring nearer. She
was told later that, on account of being too young, she
must cease attending, and she remained away with a
heavy heart, for it seemed to her that four years would
ee too much to spend in preparation to receive her

od.

Obliged thus to fall back sometimes on her own
thoughts, she restrained with difficulty her longing to
receive the Holy of Holies. She conceived the idea of
asking her sisters whether she could not join them
secretly when they were to have the happiness of receiving
Holy Communion. One Christmas Eve, before midnight
Mass, she said to Marie: “‘ Oh, if you would only bring
me with you tonight! ... This is what I would do,
so that I, too, might receive the good Jesus. I would
slip in amongst the others, quite near to you; I am so
small that no one would notice me.’’ Her eyes shone

LISIEUX—-LES BUISSONNETS gi

with her desire, and she went away sadly when told that
such a thing could not be thought of.

The Guérin family liked spending a holiday at Trouville
during the fine season. Thérése was nearly six when in
August, 1878, she went to join them there, accompanied
by her father and sisters.

It was her first sight of the sea, and, susceptible as
always to things sublime in which she discerned the
image of God, she gazed enraptured, her eyes full of
fervent and ingenuous admiration.

Passers-by were not slow to notice this tall man with
snow-white hair framing a face still young, holding by
the hand a child whose sweet and clear countenance,
long golden tresses and angelic smile, made one think
of a seraphic vision. One day a lady accompanied by
her husband could not refrain from saying in a low tone
as they passed: “‘ What a pretty little girl!’ And she
asked M. Martin if the child belonged to him.'' The
father, though pleased, signed to these passers-by not to
address compliments to his little daughter. But she had
so well profited by Pauline’s teaching, which had long
aimed at fortifying her against all vanity, that she paid
no attention to the flattering remark.

Having gone on the promenade des Planches one
evening, accompanied by the other members of their
party, this resort was abandoned, and she ventured to the
isolated point of the Roches Noires which overhang
the Fetée des Anglais. ‘There again she enjoyed moments
of contemplation which made her realize still more the
divine presence. The following gives her own account
of the impression received at that time:

1 The same impression was produced at Lisieux. A lady,
a friend of the family, said one day to Thérése’s sisters: ““ How
do you account for that child’s angelic expression ? One sees
other children with features as well formed, but she has heaven
in her eyes.”

92 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

“‘ Just when the sun seemed to bathe itself in the vast
expanse of waters, marking out before it a sparkling
pathway, I sat beside Pauline on a lonely rock. I con-
templated for a long time this golden pathway, which she
had told me was an image of grace lighting the way for
faithful souls here below. ‘Then I pictured to myself
my own heart as a frail little barque with snowy white
sail in the middle of this way, and I resolved never to
wander away from Jesus’ sight.’’*

Thus, then, at an age when ordinarily the first rays of
reason struggle through the clouds of infancy, God was
gradually taking possession of this little soul already in-
undated at times with supernatural light. Assuredly
it was the work of Divine Providence, who in His wisdom
gives His gifts to whom He will; but much was also due to
the Christian family who collaborated so actively in the
divine work.

We have dwelt on the part played by her mother in the
formation of Thérése. Pauline, whom the little one had
chosen as her “‘ new mother,” set herself especially to
continue this labour of love.

She took care, as we know, that this love should be
without weakness. While refraining always from un-
merited reproach, she never went back on a decision once
given, and never passed over in silence the slightest
imperfection in her little sister. She carried this firmness
to the extent of making Thérése impervious to fear by
sending her in the dusk to look for a forgotten object in
some dark corner.

But with these apparent severities, what devotion, what
affection and common-sense she displayed; more especi-
ally when there was question of instilling into the young
mind some abstract truth.

One day 'Thérése asked her why it was that God did
not give equal glory in heaven to all His elect; she feared

1 Histoire d’une Ame, ch. ii, p. 35.

LISIEUX—-LES BUISSONNETS 93

that the less favoured would not be truly happy. Pauline
sent her for her father’s tumbler, and placing it beside
Thérése’s tiny thimble, she filled both with water to the
brim. She then asked the child which of the two
appeared the fuller. ‘Thérése replied that they were both
equally full, since neither could contain any more.
“Thus,” said the ‘ little mother,’ “‘ will it be with the
elect. Each will receive in accordance with his capacity,
and having therefore no cause to envy the others will be
in his own sphere perfectly happy.” Thérése grasped
this truth immediately; the apt illustration had carried
the lesson home.

Though less manifest perhaps and less clear in detail,
the father’s influence was, however, far reaching. This
influence was primarily exercised by example. This
fervent Christian had carried with him to Lisieux his
cherished practices of Alengon, and Thérése, as she grew
up, became each day more capable of appreciating their
meaning and merit.

During the first years M. Martin, rising early, went
every morning in all weathers to six o’clock Mass, to which
his daughters Marie and Pauline accompanied him. ‘They
afterwards induced him to change the hour to seven o’clock.
He did so with regret, for he loved to be there in company
with the poor, who went to the earlier Mass, and whom he
looked upon as God’s favourite children.

Mass and thanksgiving ended, they returned to their
rather distant home. ‘The father walked in silence and
recollection. Marie asked him one day what occupied
his thoughts so completely. “‘I continue,” he said,
“to commune with our Lord.”

It was natural that the charity of such a soul should
extend, as formerly, beyond the family circle. Scarcely
had he settled in Lisieux, when he persuaded M. Gueérin
to establish, in co-operation with the clergy of St Pierre,
a society for Nocturnal Adoration, and he became, as at
Alencon, one of its most devoted members.

94 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

Little Thérése saw and understood everything. She
kept these precious lessons in her heart, in order to make
them her rule of life. Her father had, however, other
and more personal influence on his daughter.

Besides the country walks which provided numberless
occasions for counsel and instruction, there were the little
meetings in the ‘‘ Belvedere.” ‘Thérése often joined him
there, and would it be rash to think that she owed, in
part, to these intimate conversations her unflinching faith,
and her maturely developed disregard for earthly things ?
We can form our opinion from the following lines, the
only fragment left to us of the reflections with which
M. Martin loved to animate his fervour:

‘“‘ Men,” he writes, ‘‘ torment themselves with anxiety,
and make as much effort to preserve their life on the eve
of death as if they had yet many hundred years to live.
They act similarly in regard to everything else in the
world; there is nothing that they will not do in their
endeavour to immortalize themselves.

“* God, however, disregards their diligence. He knows
the moment, decided by him from all eternity, when these:
things shall be no more.

“This divine decree does not exclude all solicitude, but
only undue anxiety, and extraordinary and exaggerated
precaution. Let us do what we are able and leave the
rest to Providence. ‘The Abbé de Rancé was right. ‘In
vain does the sea rage and foam in its wrath, in vain do the
waves hurl themselves aloft and roar, in vain is the vessel
tossed to and fro. If the breath of Divine Providence
fills its sails it cannot be wrecked; nothing will prevent
it from coming to port.””!

Written perhaps near the large windows of his “‘ Belve-
dere,” from whence could be seen every day the darkness
strive for mastery against the dying light of evening,

1 The above unpublished fragment is unsigned, but there are

grounds for attributing it to M. Martin: Archives of the Carmel
of Lisieux.

LISIEUX—-LES BUISSONNETS 95

spreading out before the eye illuminated by faith a type
of universal decay, these lines express the serene faith
and tranquil hope which were ever the foundations of
Thérése’s piety. She learned, too, in these intimate
conversations with her father, the lesson of tender love
which was to be the guiding light in her relations with her
divine Master. The following is an example of the
’ outpourings of love which M. Martin borrowed from the
saintly Mere Barat, and which expressed his own feelings
at the foot of his crucifix. ‘‘ My well-beloved Saviour,
when I first bound myself to Thy service, I did not know
the happiness that comes from belonging wholly to Thee;
but today I know all that Thou art to me; and, with this
experience, I wish to declare that before all earthly joys
I prefer the honour and happiness of serving Thee.’”

We see they were kindred souls, this fervent Christian
and his little daughter who was already so decidedly
drawn into the way of divine union.

It happens occasionally, by the secret ordination of
Providence, that new relations are established in mysteri-
ous ways between two souls, sometimes by presentiments
or visions of the future, which enlighten them in their
mutual way of sanctity, but which often remain un-
explained for long years.

Little Thérése, at the age of six, was the recipient of a
communication of this kind.

Her father sometimes went on business to Alengon.
One day when he had gone there, the child had a prophetic
vision, which she relates as follows:

‘My father was away on a journey, and was not due
to return for some time. It was about two or three in the
afternoon; the sun was shining brilliantly, and all nature
was in festal array. I was standing alone at a window
which overlooked the garden, my mind occupied with
joyous reflections, when I saw in front of the laundry

1 Private notes: Archives of the Carmel of Lisieux.

96 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

opposite to me a man dressed exactly like papa, equally
tall, and with the same bearing, but very bent and aged.
I use the word aged to describe his general appearance,
for I did not see his features, as his head was covered with
athick veil. He walked slowly with regular step past my
little garden. Immediately a feeling of unearthly fear
took possession of me, and I called out loudly with
trembling voice: ‘Papa! Papa!’ But the mysterious
personage did not seem to hear me; he continued his walk
without even turning round, and went towards a clump
of fir trees which divided the principal path in the garden.
I expected to see him reappear on the other side of the
trees, but the prophetic vision had vanished.

“The whole thing had taken place in a moment, a
moment so deeply graven in my memory that the im-
pression is as vivid today after many years as was the
vision itself.

“‘ My sisters were together in a room adjoining. Hear-
ing me call papa, both experienced a feeling of fear.
Hiding her emotion, Marie ran to me. ‘Why do you
call papa thus, my little one, when he is at Alencon?’ I
related what I had just seen, and, to set my mind at rest,
they said that very likely the maid wanted to startle me
and had covered her head with her apron.

“But Victoire, on being questioned, assured us that
she had not left the kitchen. Besides, I could not banish
the truth from my mind: I had seen a man, and that man
resembled my father absolutely. Then we all went to
look behind the clump of trees, and, finding nothing, they
told me to think no more about it.

“Think no more about it! Ah, that was beyond my
power. Often and often did my imagination bring up
before me the mysterious vision. Often I endeavoured
to lift the veil which hid from me its meaning, and deep
down in my heart I held the conviction that it would one
day be fully revealed to me.””!

1 Histoire d'une Ame, ch, ii, p. 32.

LISIEUX—-LES BUISSONNETS Q7

It was, in fact, destined to be revealed, and Thérése
had little notion of the martyrdom she was then to endure.
But the prophetic vision of her father “ bent and aged ”
was from that time onward all the more painful to her,
since, on her own avowal, she had not then the courage to
dwell without terror on the thought that her “ dear king ”

could die.
' To draw her more closely to Himself, the Well-Beloved
continued to detach her by means of trials from the
fascination of earthly joy, and even directed her on the
way of severest sacrifice.

j

CHAPTER V

THE BENEDICTINE CONVENT—STRANGE MALADY—FIRST
COMMUNION—SUDDEN SPIRITUAL TRANSFORMATION

r [ NHE years between 1877, the date of Mme Martin’s
death, and Christmas, 1886, which marked a pro-
found transformation in ‘Thérése’s character,

marked, too, an epoch of trial scarcely interrupted by the

joy of her first Communion and the tender affection of
her family.

These trials, as we have already mentioned in passing,
form the strife through which God leads the souls of His
predestined first away from sensible things, later from
every other earthly attachment, on to intimate union with
Himself.

Céline has delineated in remarkably precise terms the
condition of her little companion at that time, a state into
which, by divine permission, she fell back even after the
marked development which we have described.

“'Thérése,”’ she declares, “‘ underwent (between these
two dates) a period of darkness. ‘There seemed to be a
veil thrown over those qualities that the Saviour had
bestowed on her. . . . Inthe world she passed unnoticed.
This impression of effacement was caused chiefly by her
excessive timidity which made her hesitating in manner
and paralysed every activity. She sometimes left herself
open, it is true, to unfavourable interpretation by the fact
that she hardly ever said anything in her own defence,
always letting others speak. She suffered at this period
from continual headaches, but her extreme sensibility

98

THE BENEDICTINE CONVENT 99

-and the delicacy of her feelings were to her the most
fruitful source of pain—pain, however, which she bore
uncomplainingly.

“Tt is important to note that, even during these years,
she was, in spite of her apparent weakness, truly strong.
This remarkable strength was shown to me by the fact
that her troubles never in the least degree turned her from
the path of duty. For my part, I have never discovered
in her during this period instability of character, never
heard a sharp word, nor noticed a falling away from
virtue. She practised mortification at every moment
and in the smallest things. She seemed to me to lose
no opportunity of offering sacrifices to God.

“She regarded the trials of her youth as ‘the special
providence of God, who wished to form her in humility.
“I had all the more need of this austere formation,’ she
writes, ‘ as I was not insensible to praise.’

“By reason of her extreme sensitiveness mentioned
above, Thérése cried at the least thing that pained or
distressed her, and when she had been consoled, she cried
for having cried. She herself realized that this was great
weakness, and she calls the sudden change which took
place in her on Christmas night, 1886, ‘ her conversion.’ ””*

This acute sensitiveness existed in the child, as we
know, from the death of her mother. Her passing
sorrows were, it is true, partly assuaged by the loving
atmosphere of Les Buissonnets, where every little family
feast-day gave Thérése occasion for joyous expansion.
But she had reached an age when the formation received
at home ought to be completed by a more systematic
education, and, moreover, covering a wider field. Léonie
was just about to leave the Benedictine Abbey where

1 Deposition for the Apostolic process, p. 126. The fact that
Thérése called her former state “ feebleness ”? and the change
wrought in her on December 25, 1886, “‘ conversion ”’ must
be attributed to her humility, for Céline shows above that, even
during this period, her virtue never failed.

100 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

Céline had been admitted with her, and M. Martin being
satisfied with the intellectual and moral training given at
this convent, decided that Thérése should replace Léonie
there, and the two youngest sisters found themselves
together as day-boarders. It was to be, then, for the
family only an apparent separation. Nevertheless, the
entrance of Thérése into this convent school, worthy of
all esteem, marks a new phase of the long trial she had
suffered since 1877.

The Benedictine Abbey of Notre-Dame-du-Pré, of
Saint Désir, is situated in a suburb of Lisieux at a con-
siderable distance from Les Buissonnets. Founded in
IOI1, it was for a long time devoted exclusively, as were
the other convents of the same name, to the contemplative
life; but in the seventeenth century its community began
to give instruction to the young girls of the neighbourhood,
and set up a boarding-school at the convent. Resuming
its work after the interruption caused by the Revolution,
the convent experienced during the nineteenth century
periods of great prosperity. Its importance was, how-
ever, diminished later on by the competition of new
educational establishments.

In October, 1881, when Thérése first went there, it
counted about sixty pupils from the town of Lisieux and
the best families of the neighbourhood. The instruction
given there was solid and rather above the ordinary. Its
system of education was simple and thoroughly religious,
displaying even maternal kindness. For the rest, the
nuns could not avoid bringing together the daughters of
the farmer class and the children whom city life had
rendered more refined, whence arose a certain amount.
of friction to the annoyance of the latter. On the whole,
a good spirit prevailed, piety was in honour, peace and
joy were the general rule.

‘ 1 From a manuscript notice on the Abbey of Notre-Dame-
u-Pré.

THE BENEDICTINE CONVENT Io!I

We already know the delight that Thérése took in the
beauties of nature, and what a radiant picture Les
Buissonnets presented to her when she came to Lisieux.
Great was the change on her entrance to the boarding-
school. High grey walls ranged around in geometrical
precision, faultlessly neat but somewhat austere-looking
classrooms, a chapel built in Louis-Philippe’s time,
inadequately compensating for plainness by its com-
modious arrangements, a spacious garden, but hemmed
in from any outlook—such was the retreat offered to the
child of eight and a half years, this child who so loved the
sun and the flowers, who had revelled and grown strong
in the open air of the country, who had been unceasingly
surrounded with family affection. Happily, the wel-
coming smile of her teachers brightened from the first
the severe appearance of the school; more fortunately
still, Thérése was to return every evening to Les Buis-
sonnets.

Her two cousins, Marie and Jeanne Guérin, also attended
the convent school. It was arranged that Céline and
Thérése should join them each morning at the pharmacy,
and all four go together to the Abbey accompanied by a
servant of M. Guérin’s.

This servant, who later became a Benedictine,’ loved
to recall after thirty years her relations with Thérése
at this time. ‘‘ When the little one found herself alone
with me on the way to the convent or in the house,
she became affectionate and confiding, and freely told
me her little secrets. These intimate conversations
centred, quite naturally, on spiritual things. For her
age she was exceptionally intelligent and reflective. I
remember in particular how, even before her first Holy
Communion, she explained to me as an excuse for some
workmen whom she heard blaspheming, that we must not
judge of the hidden things of souls, that these people had

1 She gave her evidence in the Process of Beatification under
the name of Sr Joséphine de la Croix.

102 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

received much less grace than we, and that they were
more unfortunate than blameworthy.’’*

On account of her remarkable precociousness, the nuns
had no hesitation in putting their new pupil immediately
in a class composed of girls much older than herself,
some of them even fourteen years of age. ‘Thérése’s
success soon justified this measure.

If certain classmates equalled or even surpassed her in
arithmetic or orthography, she quickly succeeded, despite
the difference of age, in placing herself amongst the first.

She had a special attraction for Sacred and Church
History. As for catechism, she grasped the doctrine with
wonderful facility, but the literal recital of the text was
at first a difficult effort.

At the class for religious instruction she never failed
to reply with perfect exactitude and precision to the
questions of M. l’Abbé Domin, the chaplain of the con-
vent. Her knowledge was so precise in the case of
difficult questions that the good priest had named her
“his little Doctor.” She seemed endowed with mar-
vellous intuition, especially as regards heaven and every-
thing that pertained to the life beyond. Nevertheless,
it happened at rare intervals that she obtained even in
religious doctrine something less than her usual success.
The poor child was then inconsolable, for she could not
bear to think that her father would have less cause for
joy that evening when he examined her notes.

Other incidents caused her painful surprise. There
were in the Abbey, as in every other educational establish-
ment, children of a naturally turbulent disposition, who
profited by a momentary absence of supervision, especially
in the corridors or on the staircases, to abandon them-
selves to relaxation which was quickly repressed. 'Thérése,
invariably adverse to anything which could displease
God, could not understand this and would look on dumb-

1 Process of the Ordinary, p. 136.

THE BENEDICTINE CONVENT 103

founded. Her silent disapproval, which was almost
always taken note of, was the first penalty for these small
acts of insubordination.

But at that age censure, even if silent, is not willingly
tolerated from a companion. Still less would they admit
the intellectual superiority of a child several years their
junior, and care was taken that the new-comer should be
made aware of the fact. ‘There was one pupil in
particular, aged fourteen,” relates Thérése, ‘‘ possessed
of little intelligence, able, nevertheless, to pose before the
others as better than she really was. Seeing me, so young,
almost always first at composition and beloved by all the
nuns, she became jealous and made me pay in many ways
for my little successes. With my timid and delicate
nature I knew not how to defend myself, and simply wept
in silence.”

A poor means of defence, truly, especially against the
temptation so common to a number of children grouped
together, to torment collectively the rival by whose
superiority they are eclipsed.

Thérése offered other vulnerable points to the taunts
of certain companions. She seemed to have little relish
for exuberant demonstrations and noisy recreation, and
the others felt this keenly. Finding her joy in un-
petalling roses and strewing the petals in front of the
Blessed Virgin’s statue, or decorating with flowers the
little altar before which she prayed, she was unskilful
in handling a racquet or a croquet mallet, and more than
one stupid or idle pupil took revenge for T hérése’s
success in the classroom by triumphing over her
awkwardness at the physical exercises in which they
indulged. Hie ,

Another observed fact created unjust prejudice against
her. Subject to frequent illness, she was obliged to remain
at home on certain class-days, but even on these days
she made every effort to complete the composition

1 Histoire d’une Ame, ch. iii, p. 37-

104 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

exercises that had been set. This led some of her com-
panions to suspect that she remained at home purposely
in order to have more leisure to study the matter set for
competition.t

From this state of affairs arose a mutual constraint,
often obliging Thérése to spend her recreations apart
from the animated and joyous groups around her, either
alone with her catechism in an endeavour to memorize
the literal words or in the company of some model
children who understood her better than the others and
felt drawn by her simple virtue.

One of the older pupils, afterwards a Benedictine nun,
has made known the object of this silent child’s constant
preoccupation, even while only two paces away from a
noisy and turbulent group of companions. ‘“ As I was
president of a pious association,” says Sceur Marie du
Saint Rosaire, ‘‘ Thérése came during recreation, accord-
ing to the custom of the school, to ask advice. She was
then about ten, and I was greatly surprised at her question.
She asked me to explain to her the method of meditation.
She also described to me then, as far as I can remember,
how she herself made mental prayer on holidays. She
hid behind her bed-curtain the better to recollect herself,
“and there,’ she said, ‘I think.’ 'This word expresses
clearly enough the state to which Thérése had arrived
in her soul’s intercourse with God, and how little need
she had therefore of the methods offered to beginners
in the spiritual life.”

She felt little need of a missal or other manual con-
taining set prayers for the faithful. Her teachers re-
marked that she hardly ever followed the method given
in the prayer-book for assistance at the Holy Sacrifice.
Sometimes they drew her attention to this fact by a
word or look. She thanked them with a smile, but the
next instant it could plainly be seen that her gaze, far

; Cf. manuscript notice on the Abbey of Notre-Dame-du-
ré.

THE BENEDICTINE CONVENT 105

from giving any indication of vague abstraction, fixed
itself on heavenly reality. She prayed “‘ without noise
of words.”

The nuns realized in part the value of the treasure
confided to their care, without however esteeming it at
its true worth. Dispositions of soul which in the estima-
. tion of those around her were faults, and which con-
' stituted in reality a trial from Providence, prevented them
from discerning the degree of union with God to which
this timid and reserved child whom they saw every day
in their classrooms had attained. One of them has
given the following picture of Thérése Martin.

“A winning and delicate smile was her habitual
expression of countenance, as soon as her tears, too ready
and too frequent it must indeed be said, were dried.
Sweet and gracious manners, tender piety, obedience
in even the smallest things, a shrinking from turbulent
and noisy associates or games, such were the character-
istics of her school life. All this was, however, veiled
by the excessive timidity and sensitiveness already
noted.’’!

As in the past, God vouchsafed to His well-beloved child
some rays of joy in her night of trial. ‘The daily return
to her father’s home, the re-union each evening of the
“little Queen” and her “dear King,” as she called
M. Martin, were to her a sweet alleviation of her daily
troubles. There were also the holidays, and never did
Thérése find them so joyful as when they were spent at
Les Buissonnets with Céline. Sometimes, too, she passed
a few hours with the Guérin family, enjoying very much
the company of her little cousin Marie.

They played at “ solitaries,” and became for the moment
penitent anchorites dividing their time between con-
templation and exercises of the active life. Sometimes,
unfortunately, the hard facts of modern life intervened

1 Manuscript notice on the Abbey of Notre-Dame-du-Pré.

106 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

to remind the two hermits that they did not live in the
desert.

One evening as they were returning from the Abbey
they wished to imitate the modesty of hermits. Thérése
said to Marie, ‘‘ Lead me; I am going to close my eyes.”
‘TI want to close mine too,” said her cousin, and thus
blindly they walked along on the footpath which was
crowded with wares. Soon there was an unexpected
collision as the two hermits tumbled over cases con-
taining the early vegetables exposed for sale by some honest
grocer. He was furious, and fumed and threatened as
he gathered up his scattered products. The two blind
solitaries promptly recovered their sight, in order to run
away with all possible speed.

Our little predestined soul could not but inspire the
enemy of man with ferocious jealousy. God permitted
that he should endeavour to cut off this life which was so
pleasing in the sight of the Eternal Father.

We know the place that Pauline held in the heart of
Thérése, Pauline whom she called, and who with so much
affection proved truly “her little mother.” Since she
became exposed to the numberless small vexations of
school-life, she appreciated more than ever the tenderness
of this elder sister who had brought her up, instructed
her, and unceasingly watched over her with loving care.

One day, as Pauline and Mariewere talking together,
she heard them speak of Pauline’s intention of very soon
entering Carmel.

What picture could Carmel present to the eyes of
Therése ?

Pauline described to her the life in the cloister, its
austerity and renunciation, but also the infinite sweetness
and intimacy established between the divine Master and
chosen souls who have left all to follow Him.

Thérése kept these thoughts in her heart, seeking from
them a light for her future. Then, one evening, she
discerned clearly, by sudden illumination, that Carmel

THE BENEDICTINE CONVENT 107

' was really the “distant desert”? of which she had so
often dreamed, and in which the ineffable peace of
companionship with God is to be found. She realized
that there would be her refuge for ever, realized it with
such force “ that from that day onward there was never
the least doubt in her mind.”!

Pauline, far from discouraging this hope, induced
- Thérése to present her request to the Mother Prioress
of the Convent of Lisieux. This good Mother listened
to the “ great confidences’ of the child, and while not
denying the existence of her vocation, told her that she
did not receive postulants of nine years, and that she
would have to wait until her sixteenth year before dreaming
of admittance.

Pauline, then, was going away, and for ever. The
family re-union, grouping, each evening, the five daughters
around their father, was to be dismembered.

The separation was intensely painful, and harder still
were the first visits, at the end of which Pauline, now
become Sceur Agnés de Jésus, could give scarcely more
than two or three minutes to her poor little sister.

The child’s health, which had long been precarious,
was not proof against this trial. The demon was going
to profit by her weak condition to obtain from God a
certain short-lived mastery over her body, to treat it
with such cruelty as would even have shattered the
delicate organs had God so permitted.

Pauline entered Carmel in October, 1882. The months
following were for Thérése a period of bitter sadness and
physical suffering which tended to increase day by day.

In March, 1883, M. Martin was in Paris, and, accom-
pained by Marie and Léonie, he was introducing them
to the wonderful ceremonies of Holy Week in the great
churches of the capital, when he was suddenly called back
to Lisieux.

1 Histoire d’une Ame, ch. iii, p. 42.

108 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

Thérése, who, with Céline, had been left in Mme
Guérin’s charge, was suffering from a sharp and dis-
quieting attack. After a conversation with her uncle,
who was speaking about her departed mother, she had
wept silently. Later in the evening she was seized,
without any apparent cause, by fits of violent trembling.

She was taken back to Les Buissonnets, and here her
condition became decidedly critical. ‘Terrifying visions
drew from her cries of distress which struck fear and
compassion into those who stood around. Strange
words which she seemed to articulate in spite of herself,
then long hours of prostrate suffering, all seemed to denote
the action of an evil spirit who had received external
power over the little sick child.

This impression was increased when, one day, she
tried to climb over the bed-rail to throw herself to the
ground. Her sisters had to prevent her by force. ‘“‘ One
Sunday,” relates Léonie, “‘ 1 had remained alone to take
care of her during High Mass. Seeing her very calm,
I ventured to leave her for a few moments. On returning
I found her stretched on the floor between the bed and
the wall. She might have been killed or badly hurt,
but, thanks to God, she had not even received a scratch.’’!

Sometimes the most familiar objects assumed terrifying
forms. Nails driven in the walls of her room suddenly
appeared to her as huge fingers burnt black, and she cried
out, “I am frightened! I am frightened!’ Her face,
usually so calm and sweet, wore then an indescribable
expression of terror.

One evening her father came and sat close to her bed
holding his hat in his hand. She looked at him at first
without uttering a word, then suddenly her expression
changed, and fixing her eyes on the hat with a look of
horror, she cried out in a choking voice: ‘“ Oh, the big
black beast !” ‘The poor father went away in tears.

It happened sometimes that she did not even recognize

1 Deposition at the Process of the Ordinary, p. 130.

-

THE BENEDICTINE CONVENT 109g

her own relatives; sometimes, too, she would hit her head
violently against the sides of the bed. Dr. Notta, a
conscientious practitioner, declared unhesitatingly on
witnessing these strange happenings: “‘ Science is power-
less in face of these phenomena; nothing can be done.”’!
Thérése has written later that even during the most
severe crisis she never lost the use of her reason, that
- she heard and understood perfectly everything that took
place around her; a further proof that while retaining
the full use of her faculties she was under the action of a
hidden power, whose author, realizing the obstacles that
she would put to his influence in the future, made attempts
on her life.

The date fixed for Pauline’s reception of the habit was
drawing near. It was not spoken of in Thérése’s pres-
ence, lest regret at not being able to assist at this touching
ceremony should aggravate her illness. But the little
one declared that she would be able to accompany her
sisters.

She was in fact able, when the day came, to embrace
her “‘ little mother,” sit on her lap, hide under her veil,
and receive her caresses. Perhaps, too, she contemplated
with feelings of envy the joy of this fiancée of Jesus. But
her hours of rapture passed quickly away. Soon they
had to get into the carriage and return to Les Buissonnets,
and the following morning saw the poor child struck down
by a fresh attack of even greater violence.

Once more, they had to keep continual watch beside
her. Marie, in particular, tended her with unwearied
kindness, and the little invalid would hardly let her leave
the room, except to go to church or to the Carmel.

M. Martin, grieved at the failure of every remedy, but
ever confiding in the power of the Queen of Heaven,
requested a novena of Masses for the cure of his little
daughter at the Church of Notre-Dame-des-Victoires, Paris.

1 Cf. Deposition of Sceur Marie du Sacré-Coeur (Marie) at the
Process of the Ordinary.

110 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

Such supplication could not but touch the heart of the
Immaculate Virgin. The scene which followed must be
related by the inspired pen of her who contemplated “ the
holy Virgin’s smile.” ‘Thérése writes:

“On Sunday, during the novena, Marie went out into
the garden, leaving me with Léonie who was reading
near the window. After a few minutes I began to call
in almost a whisper ‘ Marie, Marie.’ Léonie, accus-
tomed to hear me continually calling in that way, paid
no attention. I then cried out loudly, and Marie came
back to me. I saw her perfectly as she came in, but
for the first time failed to recognize her. I looked
searchingly all round, gazed anxiously into the garden,
and began again to call ‘Marie, Marie.’ It was un-
utterable suffering, this inexplicable and constrained
strife, and Marie suffered even more perhaps than her
poor Thérése. At last, after vain efforts to make herself
known to me, she turned to Léonie, whispered a word to
her, and went out pale and trembling.

‘“‘ Dear Léonie quickly carried me near to the window;
then I saw Marie in the garden again without recog-
nizing her. She walked slowly, holding out her arms to
me, smiling and calling me in her tenderest tone:
‘ Thérése, my little Thérése.’ This last attempt having
also failed, my beloved sister, weeping, threw herself on her
knees at the foot of my bed, and turning towards the
Blessed Virgin she implored her with the fervour of a
mother who begs with insistence for the life of her child.
Léonie and Céline followed her example, and this was a
cry of faith which forced the gates of heaven.

“ Finding no help on earth and almost dead from
grief, I also turned towards my heavenly Mother be-
seeching her with all my heart to have pity on me.

“* All at once the statue became animated. The Virgin
Mary became so beautiful that I shall never find words
to express that heavenly loveliness. Her countenance
breathed sweetness, goodness, and ineffable tenderness ;

THE BENEDICTINE CONVENT III

but what penetrated to the depths of my soul was her
ravishing smile. ‘Then all my pain vanished; two big
tears gushed from my eyes and fell silently.

“‘ Ah, those were tears of unalloyed celestial joy. The
holy Virgin advanced towards me. She smiled on me .. .
how happy I am, thought I. But I will tell no one, for
_ then my happiness would vanish. Then I lowered my
. eyes and without effort recognized my dear Marie. She
was looking at me lovingly, and appeared deeply moved;
she seemed to have guessed the great favour I had just
received.’’

Seeing the child’s countenance transfigured before the
statue, Marie had in truth conjectured that a miracle
was taking place. She questioned Thérése, who con-
firmed the reality of the glorious apparition, and then
both realized that all trace of illness had disappeared.

The joyous news must be made known at the Carmel.
Marie told it immediately though discreetly, and Thérése
herself some time afterwards. The latter had intended
to confide the secret only to her “‘ dear little mother,” but
the nuns having heard rumours of a miracle, questioned
her in the parlour, and the little one’s very reserved
account soon became a subject of conversation amongst
the nuns at the risk of being modified or amplified.
Thérése began to fear that she had given rise to these
little inaccuracies by a clumsy account of the miracle,
and her mind became tortured with anxieties, which were
quieted only years afterwards before another statue of
the Mother of mercy.?

1 Histoire dune Ame, ch. iii, p. 48.

2 'Thérése’s fears, which were sometimes so great as to
obscure in her memory the reality of the heavenly vision, could
only be the effect of divine permission with the object of
keeping her humble. Besides, the account which she gave of
her cure has been confirmed in every detail by that of her sister
Marie. ‘The following is her deposition on this subject at the
Process of the Ordinary:

11z ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

Be it as it may concerning this passing cloud, the
demon was conquered. Once more the Immaculate
had crushed him with her heel. By this terrible trial,
borne with so much Christian fortitude, the child had
progressed in union with God. Her first Communion
was to strengthen still more her bond of union with the
Well-Beloved.

Before the great day, and, doubtless, to completely
restore her health, M. Martin believed that he should
accede to the wishes of some old acquaintances who
offered Thérése a holiday in the country.. He took
her to Alencon to these friends who received them in their
respective chateaux of Saint-Denis, Grogny, and very
probably Lanchal.

The season was most favourable and the scenery
enchanting. Everywhere the welcome was delightfully
cordial. Féted continually, and petted even to emulation
by all in these beautiful places, 'Thérése admits that she

“'The most terrible crisis in Thérése’s illness was that which
she has described in her Life. I believed that she was about to
succumb. It was then that, with my sisters, I threw myself
on my knees at the feet of the holy Virgin. Three times I
repeated the same prayer. At the third repetition I saw
Thérése gaze fixedly at the statue of the Blessed Virgin. Her
countenance became radiant like one in ecstasy. She confided
to me that she had seen the Blessed Virgin herself. This
vision lasted four or five minutes, then she looked tenderly
at me. From this time onward no trace of her malady was
apparent. On the following day she resumed her ordinary
mode of life.” Summarium of 1919, p. 416.

The statue which became animated before Thérése is that
mentioned earlier in the book, which had been for a long time
previously in the possession of the Martin family. It is a copy
of Bouchardon’s model, which had been executed in silver for
the Church of Saint-Sulpice, Paris, and which disappeared
during the Revolution. 'The venerated statue of the Blessed
Virgin now stands over the Saint’s tomb in a side chapel of
the Carmel of Lisieux called ‘the Chapel of the Shrine,”
where rest her holy remains.

THE BENEDICTINE CONVENT - 113

allowed herself to yield for the moment to the charm
of attentions lavished on her with so much affection.
But the temptation touched merely the surface of her
soul already completely surrendered to the guidance of
the Holy Spirit. Serious thoughts counteracted ‘ the
bewitchment of trifles”’ so completely that the memory
of this delightful holiday will inspire her later with no
’ other reflections than these: ‘‘ Alas! how well the world
plans to combine the joys of earth with the service of
God. How seldom it thinks of death.”

The vanity of those things which had for the moment
charmed her, inclined her more than ever, on her return
to Lisieux, towards closer union with the Friend who
remains when all the rest are gone.

We know how she had for years longed to partake of
the celestial banquet. When told that in the early
Church fragments of the consecrated Host were given
to quite little children, she exclaimed with astonishment:
“ Why is it not so now ?”

But the Diocesan laws had to be obeyed. By these
regulations a child, in order to be admitted to her first
Communion, must complete her eleventh year within
the year of admission. ‘Thérése was born on January 2,
1873; she was, therefore, two days short of the required
age when, in the Spring of 1883, came the usual time for
first Communion. Seeing her companions preparing
for the great event, the dear little one deplored these two
unlucky days which kept her away from the holy table.

Meanwhile, being one day in Lisieux with her sister
Marie, she saw the Bishop of Bayeux, Mgr Hugonin,
who was going towards the station accompanied by one
of his Vicars-General. ‘‘ Oh, Marie,” she said eagerly,
“ shall I run and ask his permission to make my first
Communion this year?” Her elder sister had consider-
able difficulty in preventing her from carrying out her
purpose.

Thérése, now definitely restored to health, had re-

8

114 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

turned to the Benedictine Abbey. Preparation had to
be made for her first Communion, at all events for the
following year, and therefore only a few months distant.
Marie, who since Pauline’s departure supplemented
the work of the nuns with Thérése, early undertook her
remote preparation. ‘This was all the more easy as the
little one, possessed of an ever increasing desire for the
sacred nourishment, had moreover a marked taste for
instruction in religious doctrine.

Each evening, then, Thérése’s room, or the garden of
Les Buissonnets, was the scene of a long and intimate
colloquy where the elder sister instilled into her mind
the inestimable value of the “‘ gift of God.”

Behind the grilles of Carmel Pauline followed the
supernatural work and took part in it by prayer. She
did more. Recalling the chaplet of “ practices,” which
had so happily contributed in former years to the sancti-
fication of Céline and Thérése, she prepared a beautiful
little notebook for the latter, advising her to write down
day by day the number of her sacrifices and aspirations
of love, which she exhorted her to multiply in order that
she might belong entirely to the Well-Beloved whose
advent was so near. At the end of three months the
booklet noted 818 sacrifices and 2,774 acts of love.

The angelic child wished to go further in her en-
deavours to draw nearer to her Divine Master. Led by the
Holy Spirit at an early age into intimate, easy, and almost
spontaneous communication with God, she desired, during
these last weeks of preparation, to consecrate regularly
a half-hour each day to this familiar communion with
Jesus.

consider it prudent to agree. “‘ Then,” relates Marie,
“she asked my permission for at least a quarter of an
hour’s mental prayer every day. I did not grant this either.
Seeing her so fervent, and that she comprehended in so

She expressed the wish to her elder sister, who did not |

Se ee

ee

THE BENEDICTINE CONVENT 115

exalted a manner the things of heaven, I thought it better
to act with very great reserve on this point.

“The dear little one submitted with her usual docility ;
but innocently, and without suspecting that she was thus
giving herself up to real contemplation, she used to hide
herself in a corner of her room which could be easily
. closed in by the bed-curtains, and there she would spend
-a long time on the half-holidays ‘thinking about the

good God, about the shortness of this life, and about
eternity.’ ”

The week for the final retreat came at last, and Thérése
was invited to stay day and night at the Convent. She
long retained happy memories of the supernatural tender-
ness showered on her by the nuns during that period
Each evening the first mistress, filled with holy admira-
tion for the open-hearted child, came with her little
lantern, gently drew back the bed-curtains, and respect-
fully kissed her forehead. Seeing herself the object of
so much care, the little one ventured one day to remark
to her: ‘““O Madame, I love you so well that I am going
to confide to you a great secret.” And she showed her
the precious booklet, Pauline’s gift, where she noted
down her offerings to the divine Master, and which she
kept hidden under her pillow.

The week was passed in religious exercises, in fervent
and tender prayer, also classes in the study hall, where the
solid instruction of Abbé Domin was recapitulated.

“ At last,” writes Thérése, “‘ the happy day of all days
dawned for me. What ineffable memories the least
details of those celestial hours left in my soul. ‘The
joyous awakening at break of day, the tender and respect-
ful kisses of my mistresses and bigger companions, the
dressing-room filled with snowy vesture in which each
child was clothed in turn; above all, our entrance to the
chapel to the strains of the matin-hymn: ‘ O sacred altar
girt with angel-guard !’

“But I do not wish to, nor could I describe all... .

116 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

There are things which lose their perfume when exposed
to the air; thoughts that cannot be translated into earthly
language without losing their profound and heavenly
meaning.

‘“* Ah, how sweet it was, this first kiss of Jesus to my
soul! Yes, it was a kiss of love. I felt that I was loved,
and I said in return: ‘I love Thee; I give myself to Thee
for ever.’ Jesus did not ask for anything; He claimed
no sacrifice. For a long time already had He and little
Thérése regarded and understood one another... . On
this day, our meeting could not be called by the simple
name of regard but of Fusion. We were no longer two;
Thérése had disappeared like the drop of water which is
lost in the ocean’s depths; Jesus alone remained: He was
Master and King. Had not Thérése asked Him to take
away her liberty? Her liberty had caused her to fear;
so weak and frail did she feel herself, that she longed to
be eternally united to the Divine strength. . .t

“So great was her joy and so profound that she could
not restrain it. ‘Tears of happiness fell from her eyes,

to the great astonishment of her companions, who said

to one another afterwards: ‘ Why did she cry? Had she
some scruple of conscience ? No, it was because she had
not her mother near her, or her Carmelite sister whom
she loves so much.’ But no one understood that this
exiled heart, weak and mortal as it was, could not, without
tears, contain all the joy that came to it from heaven.’’?
This great love was to express itself in act. Thérése
knew, that after the joys of Thabor, the Master would

recall her to her daily task, and she determined to make

1 Histoire d’une Ame, ch.iv, p.58. The concluding words of
this paragraph explain what would at first sight be misleading
as regards the meaning of ‘“‘fusion.” Thérése is evidently
speaking of intimacy in its highest degree, which nevertheless
leaves intact the duality existing between the weakness of the
creature and the “‘ Divine strength.”

2 Histoire d’une Ame, ch. iv, p. 59.

THE BENEDICTINE CONVENT 7

manifest by her actions that she had drawn strength from
the Source of life.

On the evening of the great day, she wrote in her little
notebook the three following resolutions: (1) “I will
never give way to discouragement.’ (2) ‘“‘I will say the
Memorare every day.” (3) “‘ I will endeavour to humble
my pride.”

The second of these resolutions was connected with the
_ Act of Consecration to the Blessed Virgin, which Thérése
had recited that afternoon in the name ofall. The little
one remembered the smiling vision of Mary, when so
recently she had cured and delivered her, and so her whole
soul entered into this offering of herself, which was at the
same time a filial appeal for the constant protection of
the Queen of Heaven.

This day, opening with the Saviour’s kiss, was to be
completed for Thérése by the sweet contemplation of the
spiritual union which Jesus had deigned to establish,
almost at the same hour, with her ‘“‘ little mother,” a
union she continually dreamed of for herself. After the
ceremony at the abbey, M. Martin took his little daughter
to the Carmel to see her dear Pauline, that morning
professed, ‘‘ wearing a white veil like her own, and crowned
with roses.” No longer did the pangs of separation tear
the heart of Thérése. Rather was it envy of Pauline’s
lot and the cherished hope of soon sharing the same joy
that made her heart expand.

They returned finally to Les Buissonnets, where all
were united in common gladness at the family repast.
Afterwards M. Martin, in accordance with custom, made
his “‘ little Queen ” a present of a pretty watch.

The day had been so full of happiness, her intercourse
with her Divine Lord so sweet, that gladly would Thérése
have approached the Holy Table again on the following
morning. She had, however, to wait eight days. On

1 Deposition of Saur Frangotse-Thérése (Léonie) religious of
the Visitation, at the Process of the Ordinary, p. 132.

118 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

May 15, the feast of the Ascension, she was able to par-
ticipate in the sacred banquet for the second time,
accompanied by her father and her eldest sister. But,
alas! the greater feast days, when alone it was possible
at that time for her to communicate, were but few. She
experienced then the hunger for this celestial food which
was the lot of many pure souls before the happy inter-
vention of Pius X. But she compensated for the rela-
tively small number of communions by the fervour of
her preparation.

Marie clways helped her to prepare a worthy dwelling
for the Holy of Holies. In one of these little talks before
Communion, Marie spoke to her of the réle of suffering,
adding that perhaps God would not lead her by that way.
After Holy Communion the little one felt her heart
inflamed with desire for the cross, with an inward con-
viction that her desire would be granted. “‘ Then,’’ she
declares, ‘‘ my soul was flooded with consolation such as
I have never again known in my whole life.” The Most
High had commenced to prepare his little victim.

But Thérése felt at the same time that she would in-
evitably fail under trial without the help of her divine
Master. ‘Thus she disposed herself with unusual care
and earnestness to receive the sacrament of Confirmation,
whose dignity and fruit were apparent to her with a
vividness unknown to most children. Hear Ceéline’s
words on the subject: ‘‘She received the sacrament of
Confirmation on June 14, 1884. The days immediately
preceding are in particular deeply graven in my memory.
Thérése, usually so calm, was no longer the same; a sort
of enthusiasm and holy rapture were perceptible in her
exterior. One day, during her preparatory retreat, I
expressed my astonishment at seeing her thus. She
explained to me what she understood regarding the power
of this sacrament, of the Holy Spirit taking possession
of her whole being. ‘There was in her words such con-

1 Histotre d’une Ame, ch. iv, p. 61.

THE BENEDICTINE CONVENT 11g

viction, in her countenance such ardour, that, penetrated
by a sense of the supernatural, I came away profoundly
moved. ‘This incident so struck me that I can see even
now her actions, her attitude, the place where she stood,
and the memory will never be effaced from my mind.”?

After vacation, she resumed with more success than
ever her religious and literary studies. A mere child
in age, and also perhaps in sensitiveness, she was no longer
such to anyone who observed the wonderfully developed
maturity of her judgement. From henceforth, nothing
childish entered into her intellectual development or
the formation of her will. r

Her very recreations had the stamp of gravity. For
instance, she loved to give ‘“‘ honourable burial,’ as she
said, under the large chestnut-trees of the Abbey to the
little birds that had fallen accidentally from the nest.
She took a delight, too, in telling stories, and told them so
well that the older pupils readily formed a circle around
her until the Sister in charge, who wished to see play
rather than discussion, broke up the momentary group.

With her affectionate and refined tenderness, Thérése
naturally had friends. There were two whom she re-
garded with special predilection among the souls that she
loved for God. Of those two attachments one was no
doubt so fleeting as to have left no definite trace in her
life.. She has confided to us the course of the other.
After an absence of some months, imposed by various
circumstances on her little friend, Thérése received from
her on her return merely a look of indifference, which
revealed to her for the rest of her life the inconstancy
of human friendship. ‘‘ But,” she says, “ the good God
has given me so faithful a heart, that when it has once
loved it loves always; so I continue to pray for that
companion, and I love her still.””?

1 Deposition of Saeur Genevieve de la Sainte-Foie at the Process
of the Ordinary, p. 123. 2 Histoire d’une Ame, ch. iv, p. 63

120 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

Rendered wise by this experience, she was on her guard
against those attachments conceived by some of the pupils
for one or other of the mistresses, attachments too often
also passing and vain when founded on merely natural
attraction.

In recalling these memories later she wrote: “ How I
thank God for having allowed me to find nothing but
bitterness in earthly friendship. With a heart like mine
I should have let myself be captured and my wings cut.
How then could I fly away and be at rest !’”*

Having kept her treasure of tenderness inviolate for
Jesus, she renewed, in May, 1885, with her young com-
panions, that solemn Communion which in the preceding
year had brought her the most fervent emotion of her
life. Alas! the Master refused her, this time, the joyous
consciousness of this Presence. She had been tormented
with scruples for several days, and this heavy trial was to
last for many months.

To afford her some necessary relaxation, her aunt,
Mme Guérin, took her to Deauville with her own children
on the day following the ceremony.

The kindness of this second mother, the charming
vivacity of her two daughters Marie and Jeanne, the sight
of the great sea, calm as a beautiful lake or terrible in its
sudden fury, helped the child to raise her soul to the
Almighty whose majesty extends over the abysses.

The family took a villa situated on the quay dela Touques,
called then ‘‘ Chalet Colombe.” The church of Notre-
Dame-des-Victoires was a long distance away. | They
went, nevertheless, every evening to the devotions for
the month of May. If the distance or some other motive
sometimes caused hesitation, Thérése insisted in favour
of the daily homage to the Mother of God, and never did
the fatigue, however great, prevent her undertaking this
long walk. It was also her happiness to assist, in spite

1 Histoire d’une Ame, ch. iv, p. 64.

THE BENEDICTINE CONVENT 121

of storm and rain, at early Mass in the church consecrated
to the holy Virgin.

In September, Mme Guérin made a second visit to
Trouville-Deauville, staying this time in a house in the
rue Charlemagne. M. Martin having set out some
weeks before on a long journey of which we shall speak
later, she invited her nieces to join her. This second
’ visit to the Normandy coast was marked by two little
incidents, which Thérése has noted in her autobiography.

While providing abundant distractions for her little
niece in order to make her holiday beneficial, Mme.
Guérin took care to preserve her from all that could
weaken her moral strength.

One evening when the family were together in the
little sitting-room, Marie Guérin, who was then about
fourteen years of age, complained of a headache. Her
mother, yielding to tenderness that made her over-anxious,
began “‘ to fondle her, addressing her in the most affec-
tionate terms without obtaining anything but tears.”

For the moment, Thérése allowed herself to yield to
the attraction of these tender words. She, too, has
frequent headaches. She has never complained of them ;
but is not the experiment worth trying? A few days
afterwards, she retires into a corner of the sitting-room,
sinks down on a chair and commences in her turn to cry.
On being questioned she answered like Marie, “I have
a headache.”

What! No one bestirs herself to sympathize with
her. Her aunt gravely reproves her as one grown up
who wished to play the spoiled child. Even Jeanne,
her cousin, corrects her in a slightly sarcastic tone,
insinuating that Thérése does not wish to tell her aunt
the true cause of her tears. ‘‘ Thérése,” she says, “is
wanting in confidence and simplicity. She is, in all
probability, tormented by some big scruple and does not

1 Cf. Deposition of Sceur Josephine de la Croix, a Benedictine
nun, at the Process of the Ordinary, p. 141.

122 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

dare admit it.”! The lesson had gone home. “In
fine,” declares the little one, ‘‘ I was paid back in my own
coin, and I firmly resolved never again to imitate others,
for I understood now the fable of ‘ The Ass and the Dog.’
I was the ass who, on seeing the lap-dog petted, placed his
unwieldy hoof on the table to be kissed in turn. If I
was not driven away with blows like the poor animal, I
received, nevertheless, the price of my folly, and this
price cured me for ever of the desire to attract attention.”’*

Another day Mme Guérin, with her usual kindness,
had given the little one some “ sky-blue ” ribbons to tie
her beautiful golden hair. Thérese, for the moment,
was highly pleased. But had she the right to pander to
self-love by this vain finery? This problem placed her
in a difficulty, and her extreme delicacy of conscience
forced her to confess, even at Trouville, ‘‘ this childish
pleasure which, to her, seemed a sin.’

‘Thérese passed the remainder of the vacation at Les
Buissonnets, where she had to suffer a privation which
she had never known before and which she certainly
must have felt very keenly: the prolonged absence of her
father. At the earnest desire of a priest of Lisieux, the Abbé
Marie, parish priest of Saint-Jacques, M. Martin was
persuaded to go on a tour through Germany, Austria,
Constantinople, and Italy. ‘This event, which was of
some note in his peaceful life and indirectly in that of his
family, calls for a few details.

We possess a series of letters written by M. Martin
to his daughters at different stages of the journey, which
lasted six weeks. Munich with its museums, Vienna
with its marvellous bridges ‘‘ unequalled in the traveller’s
experience even in Paris,” Constantinople with the

1 Cf. “La Mission providentielle de la Bienhereuse Thérése
del’Enfant Jésus,” an article published in La Croix of November,
1913, by M. l’Abbé Lepetit, professor of the Seminary of Caen,

* Histoire d’une Ame, ch. iv, p. 67. 8 Ibid.) puibG:

THE BENEDICTINE CONVENT 123

splendours of Santa Sophia and the dazzling panorama
from the tower of Galata, presented to his eyes unsuspected
wonders whose charm he describes to Marie, “ his
Diamond,” to the “‘ good Léonie,” to “‘ the Intrepid ”’
Céline, to Thérése, the “‘ Queen of his heart,’ not for-
getting Pauline, ‘“‘ the delicate Pearl” of Carmel.’

These beautiful sights did not, however, make him
forget Les Buissonnets, and in reply to feast-day wishes
which his daughters had sent for August 25, 1885, he
wrote from Vienna: ‘‘ I seemed to see you all around me
in the Belvedere, and to hear Thérése’s sweet and
sympathetic voice murmur a little compliment to me.
It so moved me that I wished to be back at Lisieux, to
be there in good earnest to embrace you all.’”?

The tour was completed in Italy. Naples, “that
enchanting city’; Pompeii, with the poetry of its ruins;
Rome, with the wonders of St Peter’s, which are in truth
“the most magnificent in the world,” were successively
the objects of M. Martin’s enthusiastic descriptions.

Rome, above every other place, had for him the most
compelling attraction. Near to the tomb of the Apostles,
within a few paces of the Pontiff prisoner whose word
and influence cease not to rule the world, he could scarcely
contain his gladness. He wrote to Marie: ‘It is cer-
tainly here that I experience the greatest joy. ‘Tell ‘ my
Pearl ’ (Pauline) that my happiness is too great to last.’’*

Is there a presentiment in these words? At all events,
when in Milan on the eve of re-entering France, M.
Martin experienced still more vividly the impression of
the instability of human joy, and his tour ended with an
aspiration towards the beauty of the eternal Fatherland,
which cannot be dimmed by sad foreboding. ‘“ Every-
thing I see is splendid,” he writes, “ but with earthly

1 Affectionate titles which M. Martin loved to give to his
daughters.

2 Unpublished letter of August 30, 1885.

3 Unpublished letter of September 27, 1885.

124. ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

beauty; our heart is never satisfied as long as it sees not
the Infinite Beauty. ... Welcome the intimate joy
of family life! It is this which brings us nearest to the
beauty above.’

When M. Martin returned to Lisieux, Thérése had
already for some days attended the classes at the Abbey,
which had re-opened in October. She returned alone
this time, as Céline had finished her studies at the end
of the preceding school-year.

Her scruples, far from being calmed, had, alas, re-
doubled. Moreover, the little one who worked with
great diligence suffered so much from headaches, that
her father felt obliged, after a few months, to interrupt
her studies and withdraw her from the too sedentary
life of the boarding-school.

This was at the beginning of the year 1886. It was
then decided that Thérése should be brought several
times a week to a lady of good position, from whom she
would receive excellent lessons, and combine the double
advantage of instruction on the one hand, and on the
other, of bringing her into contact with the world for the
first time.

There, then, we find the little one seated before a
desk “‘in an antiquely furnished room, surrounded by
lesson- and copy-books where numbers of well-meaning
ladies came daily in search of distraction. One would
go into ecstasy about the new pupil’s beautiful hair;
another would ask in a whisper who was this pretty little
girl. ‘Thérése was, to all outward appearance, studying,
but she heard and understood all, and she was not slow
to conclude that, in order not to make shipwreck of her
humility, she had need of special assistance from the
Queen of heaven.

There was an Association of the Children of Mary
at the Abbey of Notre-Dame-du-Pré. She will ask to be
affiliated to this band of young girls specially devoted

1 Unpublished letter of October 6, 1885.

THE BENEDICTINE CONVENT 125

- to the imitation of the divine Mother, and in order to be
admitted she will accept a new term of probation among
the older pupils of the convent.

As one of the conditions, she had to assist, two or three
times a week, at a lesson in manual work given at the
Abbey. For the rest, Mother Saint-Placide, directress
of the boarding-school, had said to the members of the
’ Sodality on receiving her request for admission: ‘‘ We
- shall never have to regret her name on our list.”

Thérése came, then, without enthusiasm it is true,
and even with a certain amount of weariness, ‘‘ for she
had not, like the others, a favourite amongst the mis-
tresses.’ She worked in silence until the end of the
work lesson, “‘and then, no one noticing me,” she
writes, ““I went up to the tribune of the chapel until
my father came for me.’”*

Thérése deceived herself in imagining that no one
thought about her. Among her companions, one of the
senior girls who was afterwards to become a Benedictine
under the name of Sceur St Jean l’Evangéliste, observed
her during her silent work, and such was her admiration
for the gentleness and continual recollection of the
aspirant, that she watched, on coming out of the room,
for an occasion of talking with her. But Thérése would
disappear too quickly; she was before the Tabernacle
in converse with Jesus, and usually remained there for
more than an hour.?

She became a Child of Mary officially on May 31, 1887.
This was the last notable favour that she owed to the
solicitude of the Benedictine nuns. She retained all her
life a feeling of deep gratitude for the solid Christian

1 Histoire d’une Ame, ch. iv, p. 68.

2 Cf. Deposition of Sceur Saint-Fean l’ Evangeliste at the Process
of the Ordinary, p. 154. It was this older companion who,
once wishing to tease Thérése by pretending to suspect her
sincerity, drew this reply from the grieved and astonished
little one: “‘ Marie, I never tell a lie.” 9

126 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

education received at their convent and signified this to
them at every opportunity.’

Thérése had nearly attained her fourteenth year, when
in October, 1886, her sister Marie, who had become her
principal confidante, believed her now sufficiently
courageous to bear a new separation. She did not fear,
then, to carry out a project formed some months pre-
viously of joining Pauline at the Carmel.

Thérése who herself aspired to the same destiny
certainly could not blame her.

But while awaiting the time to imitate her sisters in
their supreme sacrifice, what was to become of her?
Who would now guide her in her troubles of conscience ?
She commenced by shedding tears. Then, seeing herself
deprived of all human support, she thought of appealing
for help to the four little angels who, born before her,
had passed so soon from her mother’s arms and gone
before her into the arms of God. In the name of the
affection that they would have shown her here below
had they lived, and which their entrance to heaven could
not have extinguished, she conjured them to obtain
peace of mind for her, thus proving that “‘ up there they
still know how to love.”

The answerfof these little brothers and sisters to the
prayer of Thérése was not slow in coming. A delicious
peace filled her soul hitherto so tormented. She was
loved in heaven; her scruples had ceased.

It now remained to conquer that excessive sensitiveness
which, even yet, often betrayed itself by floods of tears.
This little miracle—for it needed a miracle—was worked
by the Babe of Bethlehem on Christmas night, 1886. ‘On
that holy night,’ Thérése declares, ‘“‘ Jesus, the sweet
Infant of an hour, changed the night of my soul into

1 We shall give later the letter which she wrote soon after

entering the Carmel to Mother Sainte-Placide, her old Directress
at the convent. See Appendix.

THE BENEDICTINE CONVENT 127

floods of light. In making Himself weak and little for
my sake, He made me strongand courageous. He clothed
me with His armour, and since then I go from victory
to victory, advancing, as it were, with giant strides. The
fountain of my tears was dried up, not to be reopened,
save rarely and with difficulty.”

She afterwards describes the occasion and the precise
- moment when this precious and unexpected grace was
accorded to her.

“On arriving at Les Buissonnets after midnight Mass,
I knew I should find my shoes on the hearthstone filled
with gifts, as in my infant days—which proves that lI
had been, till now, treated like a little baby. Papa him-
self loved to see my happiness, to hear my cries of delight
as I drew out each new surprise from the enchanted shoes,
and his gaiety further increased my pleasure. But the
hour was come when Jesus willed to free me from the
failings of childhood and also to withdraw from me its
harmless joys. He permitted that my dear father,
contrary to his usual habit of indulging me in everything,
should this time feel annoyed. Going up the stairs to
my room I heard him say these words, which pierced me
to the heart: ‘ For a big girl like Thérése, this is too
childish; I hope this will be the last time.’

“Céline, knowing my extreme sensitiveness, said to
me in a low tone: ‘ Do not go down immediately; wait a
little while; you would surely cry when looking at the
presents before papa.’ But Thérése was no longer the
same; Jesus had changed her heart.

“ Driving back my tears, I went down quickly to the
dining-room, then, endeavouring to quell my beating
heart, I took the shoes and drew out joyously all the gifts,
looking as happy as a queen. Papa laughed; no trace of
displeasure appeared on his countenance; Céline thought
she was in a dream. Happily it was a sweet reality;
little Thérése had regained for ever her strength of soul
lost at the age of four and a half years.”

128 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

“In that luminous night began the third period of my
life, the most beautiful of all and the most full of graces
from heaven. In an instant Jesus, pleased with my good
will, accomplished the work that I had failed to do in
many years.’

The trial ordained by Providence was at an end. The
child who had borne it with undiminished virtue was to
become one of the most valiant souls to be found in the
“ Lives of the Saints.” Henceforth she could aspire
to giving herself wholly to God in the religious life.

Her childhood, too, was ended. In spite of the clouds
of sadness which from time to time had bedimmed her
skies, she never disclaimed, even when wearing the Car-
melite veil, those youthful years when her soul opened in
joyous candour to earthly beauty, the figure and symbol
of Heavenly splendour. She never in her after life
wrote anything more charming than the following lines
in imitation of a well-known poem of Chateaubriand:

“Oh, well-beloved memory,
The joyous days of infancy !
To guard my innocence inviolably,

Our Lord enclosed me from above
With love.
** T loved the plain, the hillside green,
The waving wheatfield’s golden sheen;
Breathless my joy with sisters mine to glean
Through the long summer hours
Sweet flowers.
“* T loved the little daisy white,
The Sunday walk of pure delight;
Birds warbling ’mid the boughs in sight,
The radiant azure as it dyes
The skies.

‘** Oh, memories, ye breathe repose,
Full many a picture ye disclose,
‘The evening meal, the perfume of the rose,
The summer-day at Buissonnets
So gay.’

1 Histoire d'une Ame, ch. v, p. 75.
2 Cf. Histoire d'une Ame, Poem: ‘‘ What I have Loved.”

THE BENEDICTINE CONVENT 129

When Thérése bade this sweet and melancholy adieu
to the ever dear past, she had had, for many years before,
no other horizon except the grey walls of the cloister;
but then had commenced that period rich in grace which
she proclaims, in spite of all, the most beautiful of her
life. It is now time to show how she endeavoured with
a maturity beyond her years to leave behind the charm

.of earthly beauty, and to follow in the odour of His
perfumes the Well-Beloved who was calling her to the
desert.

CHAPTER VI

VOCATION TO CARMEL—-STRUGGLE AGAINST EXTERIOR
OBSTACLES WHICH RESTRAINED HER—JOURNEY TO
ITALY

} \HERESE herself unfolds with heartfelt gratitude
the effects of that singular grace, which, according
to her own admission, had transformed her on

Christmas night, 1886. She summed them up in these

words: ‘‘ Charity entered my heart with the need of

entire forgetfulness of self; from that time forth I was
happy.’”*

Charity certainly dwelt in this virginal soul from the
moment of baptism. But the gift of self to the Saviour
even to the desire “‘ of entire self-forgetfulness ”’ is an
act so perfect and rare that the child could not but have
noted the precise moment when this grace, one of the
greatest gifts of the Divine Master, was given to her.
She was to appreciate all the more dearly this sacred
hour because it brought her the “ perfect joy ” extolled
by the seraphic beggar of Assisi as the reward of supreme
self-abnegation.

Here, then, is this child of fourteen years determined
to serve her Creator even to the extent of forgetting self
always, to become a choice stone in the mystic city built,
according to St Augustine, by those who know how to
love God even to the extent of utter contempt for self.

Moreover, 'Thérése felt, ever more insistently, that the
Crucified demanded this total surrender of herself without
reserve, the only return which corresponds to the bloody
sacrifice of Calvary.

1 Histoire d’une Ame, ch. v, p. 75.
130

VOCATION TO CARMEL 131

“One Sunday,” she relates, “in closing my book at
the end of Mass, a picture representing Our Saviour on
the cross slipped out a little from the pages, showing
me one of the Divine Hands pierced and bleeding. I
experienced then a new and inexpressible feeling. My
heart was rent with grief at the sight of this precious
Blood falling to the earth with no one eager to gather it
_ as it fell, and I resolved that in spirit I would stand
- continually at the foot of the cross to receive the Divine
dew of salvation and to pour it out on souls.

“From that day the cry of the dying Jesus, ‘ I thirst,’
resounded in my soul at every instant, inflaming it with
an unknown and intense ardour. I longed to give my
Saviour to drink; I felt myself devoured with the thirst
for souls, and I desired at all costs to snatch sinners from
eternal flames.’

Without doubt, she foresaw as one of the surest means
of rescue for these unhappy ones the immolation of
self, which her sisters were already practising behind the
grilles of Carmel, and of which her dear Pauline had
made known to her the powerful influence. But had
not the Prioress declared that at her age it was not yet
time to think of entering a convent ?

While waiting in order to answer the pressing appeal
of the Master, she must in every way and by every means
devote herself to her neighbour, thereby gaining him to God.

This neighbour was to be found in the first instance
in the family circle. Having left school, and secretly
aspiring to the life of Carmel, Thérése had at present the
duty of sacrificing herself joyously in the interests of
those around her.

“ At this period,” her sister Léonie declares, ‘‘ 'Thérése,
being constantly at home, was in truth the joy of the
family. The very servants had a great love for her;
everything about her breathed of peace, goodness, and

1 Histoire dune Ame, ch. v, p. 75.

132 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

consideration for all. She always forgot self in order
to bring pleasure to others. Her evenness of temper
was so simple and seemed so natural that no one would
believe her perpetual renunciation cost her anything.”’*

In speaking of this period of her life, she was to write
later to one of her sisters: ‘‘ I had great compassion for
those in service. In noticing the difference between
masters and servants, I said to myself: ‘ How well this
proves that there must be a heaven where each will be
placed according to his interior merit. How well then
will the poor and lowly be recompensed for the humilia-
tions which they have endured in this life.’ ”

After her own family came the poor. When each
Monday they rang at the garden gate, they assuredly
appreciated the piece of white bread which Thérése
handed to them; but how much more did they love the
smile of the little one and the care she took to protect
them from barking Tom, the faithful watch-dog who made
himself an object of terror to beggars. In the town,
where she now accompanied her father more frequently
than before, an appeal was made almost at every street-
corner to M. Martin’s purse to help some poor wretched
person crouching under the shelter of a sculptured gable.

To relief of the body she joined charity for souls,
Mme Guérin’s maid, who later became a Benedictine.
has noted some manifestations of this distinctive love
of her neighbour which gave evidence, even then, of
Thérése’s vocation to the life of Carmel.

“When she was scarcely fourteen years of age she
visited poor little girls and taught them their catechism.
I went with her several times to these families. I was
then witness of her joy and of the gratitude shown her
by the children.’”?

1 Deposition of Seeur Frangoise-Thérése of the Visitation, at the
Apostolic Process.

* Deposition of Seur Joséphine-de-la-Croix, O.S.B., at the
Apostolic Process, p. 140.

VOCATION TO CARMEL 133

Thérése herself has spoken in charming words of her
friendly relations with two of these children: ‘‘ During
the illness of the mother of a family,” she writes, “ I
looked after her two children, the elder of whom was only
six years old. It was a real pleasure to see with what
simplicity they believed all I said to them. Holy Baptism
must, indeed, plant the theological virtues deep in souls,
since from very infancy the hope of future good suffices
to make sacrifice acceptable. When I wished to see my
two little ones very amiable to one another, instead of
promising them toys or sweets, I would speak to them of
the eternal recompense which the Little Jesus would give
to good children. The elder child, whose reason had
commenced to develop, would turn to me with an ex-
pression of animated joy, asking me many charming
questions about Jesus and His beautiful heaven. She
afterwards promised me with fervour that she would
always give way to her sister, adding that she would never
forget the lessons of the ‘ grand lady,’ as she called me.””*

Mme Guérin’s servant received from her in turn
delicate and affectionate spiritual help of a different
nature. The little one repeatedly spoke to her of the
goodness of God to those who love Him, and of the
consequent love that we should have for Him. The
poor girl was then drawn to reveal an interior trouble
of soul to Thérése. ‘“‘ As I did not at all feel this love,”
she writes, ‘“‘ I mentioned the fact to her, saying that I
had not this love for God by any means. She explained
to me that love does not consist in sentiment, but in the
practice of virtue.”

Thérése could not speak thus openly to everyone whom
she wished to instruct and sanctify. There were the
obstinately impenitent, the hardened sinners who held
aloof from her sweet voice as well as from every Christian
influence. For these she had but one resource, un-

1 Histotre d’une Ame, ch. v, p. 87.

134 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

ceasing prayer, and, if need be, unwavering suffering.
She preluded then her heroic act of charity, which, on
her deathbed would be the résumé, as it were, of her
life’s aspirations. ‘‘I beseech the good God that all
the prayers which are offered for me serve not to allay
my sufferings, but may be entirely for sinners.”* k

No degree of perversity or obduracy could restrain
the ardour of her charity. This was made evident when,
in 1887, the newspapers recorded the fate of a great
criminal who, after having astonished his judges by his
cynical attitude, grieved by his impiety the chaplain
who was charged with preparing him for execution.

M Martin did not allow his daughters to read the
newspapers, not even La Croix, to which he was a sub-
scriber, but the topics of the day were discussed in the
family circle.

In the latter part of June, 1887, everybody was speaking
about the hateful circumstances accompanying the murder
of two women and a girl in the rue Montaigu, Paris, by a
man named Pranzini. Since then, the assassin had given
no sign of repentance, and it was soon known that, even
on the near approach of the supreme punishment, he
refused all help from religion.

The thought of eternal punishment in store for the
miserable man after the shame of the scaffold, moved
Thérése to unbounded compassion, and she resolved,
she a weak child living at fifty leagues distance from the
guilty man who was entirely unknown to her, to attempt
the impossible in order to rescue his soul from damnation.
But we must hear her give in her own words the prelude
of the attempt.

“In order,” she says, “ to succeed in preventing the
irremediable misfortune, I employed every spiritual means
imaginable, and, knowing that of myself I could do
nothing, I offered for the ransom of this unfortunate man

1 Deposition of Seeur Genevieve dela Sainte-Face at the Apostolic
Process, p. 369.

VOCATION TO CARMEL 135

the Infinite merits of Our Saviour and the fruits of the
Church’s treasury.

““ Need I say that I felt in my heart the certitude of
being heard? But in order to give myself courage to
continue to strive for the conquest of souls, I offered up
this naive prayer: ‘ My God, I feel assured that You will
pardon the unfortunate Pranzini; I would believe this
- even if he did not go to confession or give any mark of
contrition, so great confidence have I in Your mercy.
But this is my first sinner; for that reason I ask but a sign
of repentance for my own consolation.’”’!

From that time, Thérése thought it allowable to glance
at the newspaper each day in order to find out as far as
possible the fate of her protégé.

On September 1, she read the following lines in the
La Croix: “(Upon awaking) the condemned man was
taken to the Office of Registration and handed over to
Deibler and his assistants who were waiting for him.

** There his hair was cut off, his neck bared, his hands
bound, and at two minutes to five, while the birds sang
in the trees around and a confused murmur rose from the
crowd, the order ‘ Sabre au clair’ rang out; the click
of irons was heard, sword-blades gleamed, and at the
opened door of the prison the assassin appeared with
livid face.

“The chaplain places himself in front to hide from him
the fatal machine; the assistants help him along; he repels
both priest and executioners. He now stands before the
guillotine. Deibler pushes and throws him forward on to it.
An assistant on the other side seizes hold of his head and
draws it under the knife, holding it there by the hair.

“ But before the final stroke—it may be that a lightning-
flash of repentance penetrated his conscience—he asked
for the chaplain’s crucifix, and three times he kissed it.
And when the knife fell, when one of the assistants lifted
up by one ear the separated head, we said to ourselves

1 Histoire d’une Ame, ch. v, p. 76.

136 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

that if human justice is satisfied, perhaps too this last
kiss will have satisfied Divine Justice which demands,
above all, repentance.”’* ;

On reading this Thérése’s tears betrayed her emotion,
and she was obliged to run away. ;

‘““T had then,” she continues, ‘‘ obtained the desired
sign, and this sign was very consoling to me. Was it
not in presence of the wounds of Jesus, watching His
Divine Blood flow, that the thirst for souls had pene-
trated my heart? I wished to give them this Immaculate
Blood to drink in order to purify them from their stains,
and the lips of ‘ mon premier enfant’ were pressed to the
Divine Wounds. Ah, what an ineffable response! My
desire to save souls increased each day since this wonderful
grace. I seemed to hear Jesus whisper to me as He did
to the Samaritan woman: ‘ Give Me to drink.’ It was a
veritable exchange of love; for souls I offered the Blood
of Jesus, to Jesus I offered those same souls refreshed by
the Dew of Calvary; thus I thought to quench His thirst;
but the more I gave to Him drink, the more did the thirst
of my poor soul increase, and I received this burning
thirst as the most delicious recompense.’”?

With such dispositions one question absorbed 'Thérése :
In what way could she best find an outlet for her all-
consuming zeal? Was it her vocation to be a foreign
missionary nun, or a Sister devoted to the care of the sick,
or yet a priests’ helper in parish works? Did she not
sometimes smile at herself, so athirst for sacrifices which
would save sinners? ‘There can be no doubt, and she
herself will declare afterwards, that she felt in her heart
the flame which nourishes apostolic labourers; but an
interior voice kept ever repeating to her that the life
where unceasing prayer united to mortification perfected
the entire immolation of the creature, would give more

1 La Croix, 1 September, 1887.
* Histoire d'une Ame, ch. v, p. 76-77.

VOCATION TO CARMEL 137

complete satisfaction to the Sitio of the Divine Saviour,
and the attraction which from early childhood had
inclined her towards Carmel became more pronounced
than ever.

“The Servant of God,” declares Sceur Geneviéve de la
Sainte-Face (Céline), ‘‘ has herself confided to me the
reason of this preference. It was in order to suffer more,

-and by this means to gain more souls to Jesus. She
reasoned that it is more difficult to nature to work without
seeing the fruit of its labour, without encouragement,
without distraction of any kind; that the most painful
of all tasks is that of conquering self.

“Thus it was this living death, most fruitful of all
for the salvation of souls, that she chose to embrace,
“longing,” as she said herself, ‘ to become a prisoner as
soon as possible, in order to give the beauty and freedom
of heaven to souls.’ Finally, in entering Carmel, her
special object was to pray for priests and to immolate
herself in the interests of holy Church.””!

“The smallest movement of pure love is more useful
to the Church than all works combined.” Without
the help of any human stimulus, without even the aid
of a director, this maxim of St John of the Cross was
adopted by Thérése as the directing principle of her
future, and she decided to go where she would be able
to give most to God, in the first place, and then, indirectly
but really, to her neighbour.

Besides, nothing could be more natural than that she
should feel drawn towards the cloister where her two
elder sisters were already living in penitence and peace.

1 Deposition at the Process of the Ordinary, p. 204. During
Thérése’s journey to Rome, a pilgrim lent her annals of
missionary nuns. After having accepted them with enthusiasm,
she gave them to her sister saying: ‘‘I will not read them, for I
have too ardent a desire to consecrate myself to works of zeal,
and I wish to be hidden in a cloister so as to give myself more
completely to the good God.”—The Spirit of Saint Thérése de
VEnfant Jésus.

138 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

But if Pauline, who still remained her dear confidante,
did not hesitate to encourage her, in spite of her tender
years, to follow her austere vocation, it must be re-
membered that Marie, with her authority as eldest sister,
considering her too young, opposed the idea of her
immediate entrance.

The little one could speak but rarely and with difficulty
about her future to her two elder sisters, separated as
they were from her by the convent grille. She was more
at ease with Céline, the ‘“‘ dear companion of her infancy,”
in whom she had for some time noticed those aspirations
towards the perfect life which she herself experienced so
forcibly and so clearly. This dear sister, suppressing her
own desire for the sake of Thérése’s happiness, willingly
consented to let her go first.

Every evening, when the day’s round of study and
domestic duty was over, the two young girls conversed
freely of the austere joy of the cross enjoyed at Carmel,
which gives here below a foretaste of heavenly peace.

Seated in the “‘ Belvedere ” with hands linked together,
watching the towering trees bathed in the silver
light of summer twilight, together they turned their
gaze towards the azure firmament studded with stars,
and there behind the light and transparent veil of creation
they discerned the presence of the Well-Beloved, and
repeated in the words of the Divine Canticle: ‘‘ Having
found Him without, He has given us His kiss so that no
one can despise us.’’!

They had to descend from these heights, for M. Martin
considered that, notwithstanding their tender years, the
two children could with profit devote themselves to the
different duties that fall within a woman’s sphere, and
acquire the knowledge necessary for good housekeeping.

As before, Céline and Thérése always began their day
by assisting at Mass. ‘Thérése communicated usually in
that beautiful chapel of the fifteenth century which formed

1 Cant. viii 1.

|

VOCATION TO CARMEL 139

the apse of the cathedral, and which, according to a
tradition, sometimes denied, had been built by Bishop
Cauchon in expiation of his blameworthy part in the
trial of Joan of Arc.

Did Thérése find a special charm in receiving her
God in this framework of beauty? Very probably yes,
for earthly splendour which she instinctively appreciated
‘had never hindered her soul from soaring towards the
magnificence of the invisible world. But what interested
her most in this church, where she had watched the Holy
Table with so much envy, was the possibility of often
participating here in the sacred Banquet. Struck by
the purity of this soul, her confessor, contrary to the
custom of that time, allowed her Holy Communion several
times in the week. Not content with giving her Well-
Beloved her time, her work, and her sacrifices, she gave
Him in an embrace of ever increasing sweetness her being,
person, and entire life.

Long since delivered from scruples, and cured of her
excessive sensitiveness by the grace of Christmas night,
Thérése was now a young girl of an exceptionally keen
and reflective mind, inclined towards deep study by her
desire for knowledge.

She continued to attend the classes of the teacher whom
her father had chosen for her on leaving the boarding
school. That lady was very proud of so promising a
pupil; but Thérése’s eager desire for knowledge con-
tinually carried her beyond the limits of her teacher’s
programme. Sucha disposition would have been perilous
had not God taken care to guide this soul who saw in
Him the climax of all human knowledge.

By a preference worthy of attention, this young girl,
eager to make special progress in the science of the saints,
chose for her manual of spirituality the book which, after
the Gospels themselves, is commended above all others
to the meditation of the simplest Christians—namely,
the Imitation of Christ. In these pages, humble in com-

140 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

position but rich in doctrine and deep observation,
impregnated above all with an unction which seems
borrowed from the sacred writings themselves, Thérése
found a language adapted to the aspirations of her up-
right soul, filled as it was with love and gifted with perfect
understanding. She made it her constant companion,
even to the extent of learning it by heart in a few
months, and being able to repeat entire chapters from
memory.

Amongst the books which nurtured and strengthened
her fervour at this time she mentions with special praise
a volume which does not seem to have received from the
Catholic public the same appreciation: Conferences on
The End of the World and the Mysteries of the Future Life,
by the Abbé Arminjon. ‘“ The reading of that book,”
she declares, “‘ brought to my soul a happiness not of
earth. I foresaw already what God has in store for those
who love Him, and seeing how great is the eternal recom-
pense compared with the trifling sacrifices of this life,
I longed to love Jesus, to love Him ardently, and give Him
a thousand marks of tenderness while it was yet in my
power.’’!

In other words, this child of fourteen, who shrinks from
receiving, unmerited, the recompenses of another life of
which she had already caught a glimpse, must hasten to
Carmel, there to immolate herself.

But how was she to force the convent gates, since neither
the Mother Prioress nor even her eldest sister judged
that the time had yet come to open these gates to her ?

“‘T found but one soul,” she declares, “‘ to encourage
me in my vocation: that of my dear Pauline. My heart
found in hers a faithful echo, and without her, I would
certainly never have arrived at the sacred shore which
she had reached five years before.””?

1 Histoire d’une Ame, ch. v, p. 78. 3- Ibid. peste

VOCATION TO CARMEL — I41I

A difficulty more poignant if not more unsurmount-
able than the opposition from the Carmel itself, was the
prospect of leaving M. Martin in loneliness, which could
not but sadden his heart. He was then sixty-four years
of age. Outwardly he retained all appearance of health
and vigour, although in reality he was weakened by an
attack of paralysis, from which he had quickly recovered,

. it is true, but which left his friends apprehensive of a
possible recurrence. Besides this, he had once been

stung while fishing by a poisonous fly, and had never
been cured of a small excrescence left on his neck which
resisted all remedies and sometimes caused him great pain.
His life, then, was threatened with a twofold danger, and
it was in these circumstances that he must be asked to
part with his “‘ little Queen.”

Thérése trembled at the very thought of broaching the
subject to him. The months, meanwhile, were slipping
by. She was now fourteen and a half, and had decided
that if she overcame the obstacles raised against her
project, she would enter Carmel at the coming feast of
Christmas, the day on which a year previously she had
received the “‘ grace of conversion.”

Having chosen the Day of Pentecost on which to make
her “‘ great disclosure,” she resolved to speak after having
invoked the holy Apostles, renewed and fortified by the
infusion of the Holy Spirit.

The family had assisted as usual at the long ceremonies
at the cathedral. After Vespers M. Martin, a little
fatigued, was seated at the entrance to the garden at the
back of the house, and there, with his hands joined he
was contemplating the wonders of nature glowing in the
May sunshine.

The evening was glorious; the last rays of the setting
sun shone golden on the leaves of the tall trees, and the
birds filled the clear air with their adieu to the declining
day as with an evening prayer. M. Martin’s noble
countenance reflected the serenity of holy thoughts.

142 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

Softly, with her eyes full of tears, Thérése came, and
without a word, sat down beside him. He looked at her
with touching tenderness; then, drawing her to his heart,
he said: ‘‘ What is it, my little Queen? Tellme... .’*
And rising to hide his emotion, he commenced to walk
slowly, keeping his arm still around her.

Amid tears Thérése revealed her secret.... She
felt called to Carmel, and she desired to enter soon within |
its walls.

The first shock was severe for the poor father. Did he
in looking towards the future see his fireside deserted,
his house empty, his old age abandoned to the care of
hired servants? At all events, like the Saviour on the
eve of His bloody sacrifice, he felt his soul torn with grief
—and he wept.

Nature had claimed her tribute of tears, but in an instant
the great Christian soul recovered possession of itself.
He first of all pointed out to Thérése that she was still
very young to make so grave a decision; then he listened
to her reasons, which she, having become more sure of
herself, laid before him with calmness. 'Then approach-
ing a wall where grew some tiny white flowers, which in
form and colour resembled the lily, he plucked one and
offered it to his daughter as a symbol of the virginal purity
that she wished to consecrate to God. ‘These two hearts
were henceforth united in their aspirations towards the
same ideal; the step which cost Thérése the most had been |
successfully taken.

But from the time of her mother’s death, she had had a
guardian, and it would not be right to leave her home
without having first obtained his consent.

M. Gueérin, in his affection for his niece, was surprised
and greatly troubled, and showed himself at first adverse.
“This would be,” he declared, “‘a unique case in the

1 ‘This scene has been reproduced by a skilful artist who has

erected in this very place in the garden of Les Buissonnets a
beautiful group in white marble.

VOCATION TO CARMEL 143

whole of France. It would, in fact, be almost a scandal

- for a child of fifteen years to enter Carmel.” As for him,

he would oppose it with all his power, and to alter his
opinion a miracle would be necessary.

Such a reply filled Thérése with consternation. She
besought her heavenly patrons to change her uncle’s
resolve; but Heaven remained deaf to her pleading, and

for three days she felt abandoned by God and man.

- Nature was in unison with her soul; dense inky clouds
covered the sky, betokening sadness and fear. Despite

all, she prayed in her distress of soul.

On the fourth day she returned to her uncle, and great
was her surprise to find him completely changed. “A
miracle is no longer necessary,” he said; ‘‘ I have prayed
to God to give me an unbiassed inclination of heart, and
my prayer has been granted. Go in peace, my dear
child. You are a little privileged flower that the Saviour
wills to cull for Himself; I will not stand in oppo-
sition.” And he embraced his niece with the tenderness
of a father.

The horizon was cleared; Thérése could from hence-
forth make direct appeal to the Carmel.

Although formerly she had discountenanced the in-
genuous request of the postulant of nine years, the Mother
Prioress, who had since seen Thérése many times in the
parlour and had learned about her from her sisters, was
now quite disposed to welcome her. But before deciding
finally to admit her, she had to consult the ecclesiastical
superior of the community, who represented the Bishop
in her regard.

This superior, M. le Chanoine Delatréette, was then
curé in the parish of Saimt-Jacques, in which the convent
is established. A man of lively faith, of a disposition
in the main benevolent, but with rigid, definitely moulded
convictions, this priest, ignoring the just observations of
the Prioress, constituted himself, in an exaggerated way,

144 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

the inflexible guardian of the Rule which he believed it
his duty to maintain without modification or exception.

He held that no one should be allowed to enter the
Carmel before the completion of their twenty-first year.’

Mother Marie de Gonzague had tried without success
to induce him to change his decision. She made another
attempt in an indirect way. One day, when this for-
midable Superior had come to the infirmary to visit the
venerable Mother Geneviéve de Sainte-Thérése, foundress
of the Carmel of Lisieux, she, on the suggestion of the
Prioress, renewed the petition that Thérése Martin be
admitted as a member of the community. A veritable
outburst followed. ‘‘ Again this young girl,” exclaimed
M. Delatréette. ‘‘'To hear you talk, one would think that
the salvation of the community depended on the entrance
of this child. There is no danger in delay. Let her
remain with her father until she has reached her majority.
Besides, do you believe that I would persist in refusing
without having consulted God? Let no one speak
further to me on this affair.””?

The above scene gave an idea of the reception that
awaited the one chiefly interested when she should present
herself to plead her cause. ‘Therefore M. Martin, who
now not only accepted as a fact but intended to foster
his daughter’s vocation, decided to accompany her to the
house of the redoubtable Canon.

A sharp and decisive “ No” to the opening words of
Thérése cut short the little speech she had prepared. But
the conscientious priest said to them in parting: ‘‘ How-
ever, I am only the delegate of Monseigneur. If he
allows you to enter, I shall have no more to say.”

1 The Carmelite Constitutions did not fix an age limit for the
entrance of postulants; at that time they merely directed that
profession must not be made before completion of the seven-
teenth year.

2 Deposition of Rev. Mére Agnes de cate at the Apostolic
Process, p. 161.

VOCATION TO CARMEL 145

They came away from the presbytery in torrents of
rain. Like the heavens, Thérése’s soul, too, was sad.
Yet the Superior’s last words gave her a ray of hope.
Recourse to the Bishop of the diocese was possible.
Without hesitation, M. Martin offered to take her to
Bayeux, and Thérése found solace in the thought of
this further attempt, from which, nevertheless her

habitual timidity made her shrink.

’ Mgr Hugonin, the prelate in question, was a man of
gentle and benevolent disposition. Of studious habits
and already advanced in years, he left part of the
administration of his diocese in the hands of his Vicars-
General. .

Associated with him in this quality was a priest of
sterling piety and devotedness whose action was to have a
momentary influence on 'Thérése’s destiny.

Successively parish priest of Vaucelles de Caen,
military chaplain, curé of Saint-Pierre, Caen, and Vicar-
General of Bayeux, the Abbé Reverony had gained every-
- where the reputation of an earnest apostle and an en-
lightened director in matters of conscience. As humble
and disinterested as he was charitable, he had refused
the Episcopate, his only ambition being to minister to
souls to the end, in the diocese where he had received
the priesthood. He was in the confidence, too, of Mgr
Hugonin, who hardly ever took an important step without
consulting him.+

It was this confidential counsellor of the prelate who
assigned October 31, 1887, to M. Martin as the date
of his interview with the Bishop.

Thérése set out accompanied by her father. It was
the first time that the young girl had gone to visit anyone
without her sisters, and now she was to begin by visiting
a Bishop. Added to this, she who never spoke except
to reply to the questions of others, found herself obliged

1See the Vie de l’ Abbé ¥. M. Reverony, Vicaire-Générale de
Bayeux. (Anonymous.) La Chapelle Montligeon, 1900.

1Q

146 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

to explain before a prelate her reasons for seeking a strange
and almost unheard-of favour. What a trial for her
excessive reserve !

Meanwhile she endeavoured to put the best face on
matters. In order not to appear as a child in the eyes of
Mer Hugonin, she had put up her hair which, till then,
fell on her shoulders in natural curls. In spite of all,
when she had entered through the majestic gates and
saw herself within two paces of those solemn walls behind
which her fate was to be decided, she felt her emotion
rising. But let her relate herself the interview on which
her heart had founded so many hopes.

“The Abbé Reverony was very friendly, although he
looked slightly surprised. Noticing the tears in my eyes,
he said to me: ‘ Ah, Isee diamonds. You must not show
these to Monseigneur.’

“‘ We then passed through large state-rooms, which made
me feel as insignificant as a tiny ant, and I asked myself
what I should dare to say. Monseigneur was at the
moment walking in a corridor with two priests. I saw
the Vicar-General exchange some words with him and
come back in his company to the room where we were
waiting. ‘There three enormous armchairs were ranged
in front of a brightly burning fire.

“On seeing Monseigneur enter, papa knelt with me to
receive his blessing; then his lordship motioned us to be
seated. MM. Reverony offered me the central armchair.
I excused myself politely. He insisted, telling me to
show that I was capable of obedience. I immediately
submitted without further hesitation, and had the mor-
tification of seeing him take an ordinary chair while I
found myself buried in a monumental seat where four girls
like me might sit at ease—certainly more at ease than I
was, for I was far from feeling at home.

“T hoped that papa would open the conversation, but
he told me to explain the object of our visit. This I did
as eloquently as I could, though fully realizing that a simple

VOCATION TO CARMEL 147

word from the Superior would have done me more
service than anything I could say, and that his opposition
must certainly tell against me. Monseigneur asked me
if I had long had the desire to enter Carmel. ‘ Oh yes,
Monseigneur,’ I replied, ‘a very long time.’

“““Tet us see,’ said M. Reverony smiling, ‘ certainly
not as long as fifteen years.’

_ “That is true,’ I answered ; ‘ but it is not much less,
for from the age of three I have desired to give myself
to the good God.’

“‘ Monseigneur, believing that he would be expressing
my father’s wishes, tried to explain that I ought to remain
at home with him for some time longer. What was his
lordship’s surprise and edification to see him immediately
take my part, adding with respect and gentleness that
we were going to Rome on the diocesan pilgrimage, and
that I would not hesitate to speak to the Holy Father
if I had not obtained before then the permission I sought.

“Meanwhile a discussion on the matter with the
_ Superior was considered indispensable before giving us a
final decision. I could have heard nothing more dis-
quieting, for I was well aware of his declared and decided
opposition. So, disregarding M. Reverony’s warning,
I did more than show my diamonds to Monseigneur,
I gave them—shedding tears. I saw clearly that he was
moved. He came and caressed me—a favour that no
other child had ever, it appears, received from him.
‘ All is not lost, little one,’ he said to me, ‘ but I am
pleased that you are going to Rome with your father;
you will thus confirm your vocation. Instead of weeping
you should rejoice. Besides, I am going to Lisieux next
week; I shall speak to the Superior about you. You
shall certainly receive my reply in Italy.’ His lordship
then took us into the garden.’”*

The audience was finished, and Thérése had, alas,
accomplished nothing.

1 Histoire d’une Ame, ch. v. pp. 89-91.

148 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

Moved by the child’s candour and generosity, the
venerable Bishop did not wish to discourage her openly;
but the step appeared to him as well as to his Vicar-
General both inopportune and unusual, and apparently
they decided on withholding their approval, at least until
the case had been more thoroughly examined.

One last resource remained, a petition made in person
to the Sovereign Pontiff, if that were possible.

But what was this pilgrimage to which M. Martin
had alluded and on which he counted to facilitate his
* little Queen’s ”’ entrance to religion ?

We are writing of that epoch when the recent spoliation
of Italian convents, added to the position of the Sovereign
Pontiff, who found himself virtually a prisoner, made the
faithful of the whole world shudder, and more especially
the Catholics of France. The Bishops of the most loyal
dioceses wished to protest against these sacrileges, and
to console the Holy Father by leading to his palace
legions of pilgrims eager to make known their respectful
attachment to him.

Amongst the most ardent protestations against the
usurpations of the Italian Government was that of the
Bishop of Coutances, Mgr Germain.

It was he, apparently, who had initiated the pilgrimage
in which the Martin family were to join, and which had
the avowed object of honouring the sacerdotal jubilee of
Leo XIII.

Mgr Germain had a Vicar-General well adapted to
second him in his undertaking. A successful organizer
of religious pilgrimages, of active disposition and ultra-
montane tendencies, the Abbé Legoux, who bore the
title of Pope’s chamberlain as reward of his many acts
of devotion to the Holy See, set about finding among the
clergy and the wealthy families of that part of the country
a sufficient number of pilgrims to form an imposing body
in the halls of the Vatican.

VOCATION TO CARMEL 149

In order to increase their numbers, it was decided to
make the projected journey both an act of filial loyalty
to the Holy Father and at the same time a magnificent
pleasure trip. ‘The programme published in the Diocese
of Bayeux appeared so attractive that there also numerous
families enrolled themselves as pilgrims, so many that
Mgr Hugonin, wishing to have his flock officially re-
. presented at the Vatican, sent at their head his Vicar-
General, M. Reverony.

Everything was in readiness for the approaching
departure. The preliminaries of this long excursion
had been exceptionally well thought out. Cares for the
material side of the journey were reduced to the minimum,
permitting each pilgrim to give himself without anxiety
to the enjoyment of the wonderful sights. ‘The economic
organization of the pilgrimage had been given to the
“Agence Lubin” who, for an agreed sum payable in
advance, guaranteed to provide the railway journey,
hotel accommodation and meals, and sight-seeing tours by
vehicle in the principal towns. M. Martifi had always
a great love for travel. From the first he had been
tempted by the charm of this pilgrimage which would
enable him to see a second time the most beautiful sights
in Europe, to view the most splendid monuments of
Christian art, while at the same time bringing to the
Pontiff prisoner the homage of unwavering fidelity. After
his interview with Mgr Hugonin his resolution was
strengthened by a new motive.

He left Lisieux accompanied by his two daughters
on November 4, for Paris, where all the pilgrims were to
meet.

Thérése soon remarked that certain ‘pilgrims were
obsessed with other preoccupations than those of piety.
In these carriages decorated with religious emblems
were assembled the flower of the Normandy nobility.
In this brilliant reunion, at the commencement of a tour
which promised as much enjoyment as edification, each

150 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

one made willing display of his titles and family pre-
rogatives.

The little one was shocked by this worldly ostentation
at the very beginning of the pilgrimage. “ Far from
dazzling us,” she says, “‘all these titles of nobility
appeared to our eyes as smoke and vanity. I recalled
these words of the Imitation : ‘ Pursue not the shadow of
agreatname.’: I understood that true greatness is not to
be found in a name but in the soul.”

Nothing reveals the little failings or whims of good
people more than the continuous close intimacy of life
on a pilgrimage. Thérése esteemed the many edifying
Normandy priests with whom she travelled; edifying
they were, in truth, though not wholly freed, as she saw,
from every weakness of human nature.

This continual association inspired Thérése, after a
few weeks, with the following reflections: ‘‘ For the past
month I have met many holy priests, and I have seen
that if their sublime dignity has raised them above the
angels, they are, as men, still subject to human weakness
and frailty. If, then, holy priests whom Jesus in the
Gospel calls the salt of the earth, show that they have
need of prayer, what of those who are tepid ?”’?

She now understood what had hitherto escaped her—
namely, that prayer for priests was one of the highest
and most salutary services rendered by Carmel, and she
resolved to place this, later, in the first rank of the duties
involved by her state of life.

November 7 was fixed for the gathering together of the
pilgrims in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, Montmartre.

While awaiting the departure for Italy, M. Martin
thought it well to take his daughter to see the principal
monuments of Paris.

In ‘Thérése’s opinion, nothing equalled the little
church of Our Lady of Victories. She felt that in this

. Imit., b. iii, ch. xxiv, 2.
* Histoire d’une Ame, ch. vi, p. 95.

VOCATION TO CARMEL I51

sanctuary which had witnessed so many spiritual favours,
Mary had something to reveal to her, and she held herself
in confident and peaceful expectation at the foot of the
_white statue which represented so well the maternal
countenance of the Blessed Virgin.

Our Lady of Victories made her understand clearly,
first of all, that it was in very truth she who had smiled
on her and cured her. This assurance was of inestimable
worth for Thérése. It will be remembered that the search-
ing questions of some of the Carmelites had troubled
the “‘ little one ” to the extent of making her lose in part
the joy of her supernatural cure. The Queen of Heaven
set her mind at rest on this subject so completely that she
could open her soul in gratitude and consolation un-
alloyed.

Such condescension on the part of the Blessed Virgin
induced Thérése to ask for new favours. She feared
that the tour through Italy, with its spectacle of purely
pagan art or of art too directly inspired by paganism,
would not be without danger to her modesty. Having
no knowledge of evil, she dreaded to discover it. ‘Thus
she besought the Immaculate Virgin to guard her un-
ceasingly. After she had addressed the same prayer to
St Joseph, “the father and protector of virgins,” she felt
that her prayers were heard.

The time had come to rejoin the pilgrimage. After the
consecration of the members to the Sacred Heart in the
Basilica of Montmartre, they set out for Switzerland,
through which they had to pass before entering Italy.

Each compartment of the train was, at the outset,
placed under the patronage of a saint, the idea being to
choose the patron of the presiding priest of each com-
partment or that of his parish.

Mer Legoux had already remarked the fervour of the
three pilgrims from Lisieux. Approaching their group
with animation, he announced in a loud tone the name of

152 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

their patron as St Martin. ‘Thérése’s father smiled and
thanked him. He was to experience, during the journey,
less agreeable incidents.

He was accustomed to hear hymns sung on former
pilgrimages. He thought that when travelling through
the level plains of Champagne, where nothing worth
notice was to be seen, some moments at least could well
be devoted to united praise of God; but card-playing
often occupied a greater number of hours than prayer,
even in M. Martin’s compartment. When he was asked
to join in this pastime he excused himself, saying that
in his opinion it would be better to devote more time
to devotional exercises. Vexed at this remark, although
it was made in the most courteous manner, one of the
persons concerned cried out: ‘“‘ Fortunately, pharisees
are rare.” "lhe humble M. Martin did not utter a word;
he pretended not to have heard the remark, and, soon
afterwards, found an occasion of shaking hands with the
man who was so utterly wanting in respect for his grey
hairs.

This was one of the numberless incidents which served
for the sanctification of each according to his measure,
and made of the beautiful tour, in spite of everything, a
pilgrimage of penance.

The first halting-place was Bale. As the pilgrims
arrived at nightfall they were unable to visit the town,
and after a few hours’ delay at the station set out again
in the middle of the night for Lucerne.

Switzerland had till then veiled its splendour; but when
suddenly the lake of the Four Cantons came in view, the
travellers perceived, beneath the clear rays of the sun, the
deeply indented shores bathing their rugged or smiling
promontories in the crystal waters; when they beheld
the imposing heights of the Pilatus and the Righi with
snow-capped summits veiled in cloud, there was a
universal cry of admiration.

Therése Martin rivalled in enthusiasm her most

VOCATION TO CARMEL 153

_ animated companions. These splendid sights had lasting
powers of enchantment since, she could write after the
lapse of many years: ‘‘ What good it did my soul to see
those beauties of nature spread out thus in profusion !
How they raised it to Him who is pleased to scatter
His wondrous works over this land of exile which lasts but
for a day.’”

_ On leaving Lucerne, the town of historic bridges, of
_which the majestic setting made one rather forget their
archeological value, the railway followed the course of
the Reuss. This is the most picturesque portion of
Switzerland, so rich in magnificent scenery. Thus
Thérése found at every turn occasion for a new hymn of
praise to the Creator. ‘‘ At times we were carried up
nearly to the summit of a mountain. Below the awful
precipices seemed ready to engulf us in their un-
fathomable depths. Or again, we would pass through a
charming hamlet with its chalets and its graceful belfry,
above which the fleecy clouds hung softly. Then, an
immense lake with calm and crystal waters mingling their
azure tint with the gold of the setting sun. How express
in words my impressions of so poetic, so imposing a
spectacle ? I had there a foretaste of the wonders of
Reavers: wu. ?

And again: “I said to myself, ‘ Later on, in the hour of
trial when, a prisoner in the Carmel, I shall be able to see
only a little corner of the heavens, I will recall this scene,
and the remembrance will give me courage. I shall no
longer be preoccupied about my own petty interests when
thinking on the grandeur and power of God. I will love
Him alone, and shall not be so unfortunate as to become
attached to trifles, now that my heart foresees something
of what He has in store for those who love Him.’ ’”

Such was the spiritual profit of this rapid excursion
through Switzerland and its renowned scenery.

Beyond the Saint-Gothard tunnel new scenes of en-

1 Histoire d’une Ame, ch. vi, p.97. 2 [bid. 3 (bid.

154 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

chantment awaited them. They were now in the plains
of Lombardy, resplendent in the sun, offering to the
astonished eyes of the Normandy visitors, who had just
left behind them leafless trees and leaf-strewn roads, the
glory of summer growth and verdant fields as yet hardly
touched by the autumn blast.

Here, on the edge of transparent waters which throw
back the reflection of its white houses, Lugano raises its
cupolas in the centre of an elysian countryside. Here is
Como with its lake sleeping peacefully in the moonlight,
and its blue crown of hills wreathed in mist. Here, also,
is Milan, the proud capital, which was reached at nightfall,
and of which nothing but the broad boulevards with their
sparkling lights could be seen.

The pilgrims had to await the morrow for their visit
to the “‘ Duomo,” that incomparable cathedral with its
lace-like white marble and its innumerable statues.

This church holds the body of St. Charles. IM. Martin
and his daughters did not fail to assist at the early Mass
celebrated by Mgr Germain before the precious shrine.
As pilgrims were allowed to ascend to the top of the edifice,
Thérése, whose admiration was not exhausted by the
Swiss landscapes, undertook, with her sister, the ascent
of dome and turret in order to see from this vantage-point
the wide panorama of the city and the Lombard country-
side. ‘They continued to mount upward until the people
in the streets below appeared “ as small as ants.”

The programme of excursions included a visit to the
Campo-Santo of Milan. In the north of Italy, every
large town has its monumental cemetery, where the
tombs of the wealthy are usually of marble adorned with
finely executed sculpture. Appreciating works of art,
as well as Nature’s grandeur, 'Thérése was struck with
admiration for the perfection and finish of these statues
which almost seemed to palpitate with life. ‘‘ What
masterpieces |”? she exclaimed. ‘‘ Here is a little child
strewing flowers on its father’s tomb; the lifeless marble

VOCATION TO CARMEL 155

is forgotten; the delicate petals seem to slip from the
fingers. Here the light veil of the widow, and ribbons
woven through young maidens’ hair, seem to float and
shimmer in the breeze.”

One pilgrim, however, tried to suppress this joy. He
was an old gentleman who grumbled and found fault with
everything, and who could in no way endure enthusiasm
. of any description in his fellow-travellers. It would have
- been better for him to remain at home, as Thérése frankly
declared. But she refrained from complaining. She
rather made this a subject of observation from which she
purposed to draw profit. “‘ What an interesting study,”
she writes, ‘‘is the world to one who is on the eve of
leaving it.”

On the following day the pilgrims took train for Venice,
and arrived there at nightfall, about ten o’clock. Their
entry into this singular town was lugubrious. On leaving
terra firma, the solid ground of the station, they were
handed over to the gondolier who had been engaged to
bring them to the hotel selected beforehand; all this in
the darkness. The gondolier, with whose language you
are generally unacquainted, rows you along in silence over
the marshy waters of the canals. Your route lies at times
between high walls, dark and sinister-looking, intensifying
by their shade the inky blackness of night which hangs
over the stagnant waters. ‘Through numberless unknown
windings you are finally taken to the hotel, where you
regain with some difficulty your sense of security.

Such was the first impression received by the Normandy
pilgrims on entering the city of the Doges. Was it the
memory of this cheerless arrival which drew from Thérése
the following unenthusiastic appreciation? ‘‘ This city,”
she says, ‘‘ has many charms, but it is melancholy.”

Perhaps it did not sufficiently present the attraction
which, in her eyes, surpassed all others, that of sanctuaries
specially venerated for their precious relics or the miracles

1 Histoire d’une Ame, ch. vi, p. 98.

156 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

wrought within their walls. Assuredly, incomparable
marvels of art were in evidence at the palace of the Doges,
at St Mark’s, in the museums, on the fa¢ade of the palace
near the Grand Canal; but all was solemn with the silent
solemnity of a necropolis. And then there were the
underground prisons, dungeons where so many victims
pined away their lives in former days, the sight of which
inspired Thérése with horror and pity.*

The cathedral of Padua was a compensation to her
fervour. Only after venerating the precious relic of
St Anthony, did she turn to admire the splendid sculp-
tures of Donatello lavished on the tomb of the humble
Franciscan.

The next break in their journey was at Bologna. With-
out delaying over the details of San Petronio Cathedral,
or the masterpieces of Francia within its walls, Thérése
hastened to the church of St Catherine. The future
Thérése de Enfant Jésus could not fail to contemplate
with devotion the mortal remains of this little Collettine
of the fifteenth century, whom the Divine Infant had
loved with predilection, and on whose dead face still
remained the imprint of His kiss. She venerated those
limbs, pliant still in spite of death and the blood liquid
after 400 years. ‘The pilgrims saw in this preservation
the glorification of the saint’s purity and humility, this
saint who, before entering the cloister, had shone as a
lady of honour at the Ferrara court. Once more Thérése
raised her heart in gratitude to the Almighty who seemed
thus to recompense the virtues He loves best.?

But Loreto was a real joy to her. There one can vener-

1 'Thérese Martin, on arriving at Venice, was brought to the
Hotel della Luna, where the author of this book, amember of the
same pilgrimage, also stayed. Without knowing her, he probably
passed her often jn the corridors or on the stairs.

2 She, however, confided later to one of her sisters that the
puri ae body of the saint was for her a not very attractive
sight.

VOCATION TO CARMEL 157

ate the humble dwelling where the Word was made flesh,
those walls which were silent witnesses of the play as well
as the rude toil of the Child Jesus.

After a delightful journey along by the Adriatic studded
with little triangular-sailed fishing barques, then through
plains where, as in Virgil’s time, the vine is mated with
the elm and the cherry-tree, the pilgrims could at last
climb the slopes of the holy hill.

As if the corner of the earth where the Santa-Casa lies
should participate in the humility of this artisan’s dwelling,
Loreto is a simple village where a house of some appear-
ance or a comfortable hotel would be sought for in vain.
The home of the King is surrounded, as of old, by lowly
dwellings. ‘This very fact formed an additional attraction
for Thérése. In this, she declares, lay the charm of
Loreto.

The Holy House, enclosed now in a gorgeous basilica,
contains, as we know, certain objects well calculated to
excite devotion in the pilgrim; for example, a little wooden
vessel called “the bowl of the Infant Jesus.” ‘Thérése
did not fail to touch with her rosary beads this relic held
sacred by a graceful tradition; but the Santa-Casa had a
yet more precious possession, an altar; and at this altar,
so near to the place where Our Saviour lived, the two
sisters, Thérése and Céline, by a holy daring, succeeded
in receiving Holy Communion.

Some hours later the train departed for Rome. The
weather was exceptionally favourable; the Umbrian
countryside, bathed in the transparent autumn light,
produced in the souls of the pilgrims a feeling of deep
peace. Each beautiful little village seemed to them a
terrestrial paradise, as it emerged from the clusters of
evergreen pines or yew-trees, crowning hills, the rounded
summits of which seemed to succeed one another in
infinite line.

As for Thérése, she delighted more than any other in the
charms of this enchanting country. Were not these the

158 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

farewell smiles of well-beloved nature to which she was
about to bid adieu ?

It was night-time, and she was asleep in a corner of the
carriage, when the porters ran along the train crying out,
“Roma, Roma!” She had reached the end of the journey ;
the home of the Sovereign Pontiff, whose authority she was
about to invoke, was not far away.

Through the noisy modern streets which enclose
ancient Rome within a circle of ugly commonplace
houses, Thérése and her two companions were driven
to one of the vast hotels which the agency had procured
for the pilgrims. This was the Hotel du Sud, where
she stayed during her brief sojourn in Rome,‘ while
Mer Germain, Mgr Legoux, and the majority of the
pilgrims from Coutances went to the Hotel Minerva.

An inquisitorial eye had noted the actions and de-
meanour of 'Thérése since they left Normandy, and did not
cease to observe her during each halt in the journey. It
was that of the Abbé Reverony. Though a little em-
barrassed at finding herself the object of this prolonged
solicitude, which she foresaw would grow more vigilant
when they visited the Vatican, yet Thérése went on her
way without constraint, and joined in the excursion
arranged for the pilgrims before the day fixed for the
Papal audience, with perfect freedom of spirit and child-
like wholeheartedness.

To visit the places of interest, the pilgrims had been
divided into five groups. That to which the Martin family
belonged began by visiting those the most celebrated of
the Campagna. '

More than mere curiosity inspired 'Thérése and Céline
to examine the gigantic circus which, under the name of

1 This hotel, situated in the Via Capo le Case, still exists,
and a memorial tablet, bearing a representation of the saint
(in relief), was set up there on May 17, 1925, the date of her
canonization,

VOCATION TO CARMEL 159

the Coliseum, had been the theatre of the cruel Roman
games; they had a genuine veneration for its arena, red
with the blood of martyrs. With real joy, then, they set
out for the amphitheatre, that imposing ruin which forms
one of the wonders of the papal city.

Their ambition was to kiss the ground where the
Christians had fallen torn by the teeth of wild beasts,
and, if possible, to gather some grains of this sacred dust.
But they had not taken into account the ravages of time,
through which, in the course of centuries, the original soil
had been covered up at a depth of at least 25 feet.

Excavations had, however, been carried out in one part
of the arena, and a gaping hole protected by a strong
barrier gave access to depths where, perhaps, the soil
sanctified by martyr-blood could still be found.

Notwithstanding the barricade, the two sisters ap-
proached this opening and Thérése, leaning over the
edge, believed she saw a way of getting down: “‘ Come,
follow me,” she said to Céline; “‘ we shall be able to get
down.” But we must hear her own account of this
exploit:

‘* We set ourselves immediately to the attempt, climbing
over ruins which crumbled beneath our feet, while papa,
astonished at our daring, called out to us from the dis-
tance. But we no longer heard anything.

‘As warriors feel their courage rise according as the
peril increases, so did our joy grow greater in proportion
to our fatigue and the danger we had to face in order to
attain the end in view.

“Céline, more far-seeing than I, had listened to the
guide. Remembering that he had described a certain
stone marked with a cross, as indicating the place where
the martyrs fought, she set herself to find it. She soon
succeeded, and we knelt down on this sacred ground,
our souls united in the selfsame prayer... . My heart
throbbed with emotion as I touched with my lips the dust
empurpled with the blood of the early Christians. I asked

160 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

the grace that I, too, might be a martyr for Jesus, and I
felt deep down in my heart that my prayer was heard.

*“* All this occupied but a few moments. Having col-
lected some small stones, we returned towards the walls to
resume the perilous part of our enterprise. Papa, seeing
us so delighted, could not chide us; I even saw that he was
proud of our courage.’”*

It was during this expedition through the Campagna
that the two sisters visited the catacombs of St Calixtus.
They had as guide a Trappist of Norman origin, Pere
Marie-Bernard. His kindness proved a considerable help
in reaching this labyrinth of underground galleries, lighted
only by the flickering flame of a torch.

This catacomb contains, as we know, the sarcophagus
where the body of St Cecilia was discovered. In order
to show their veneration for the martyr’s last resting-place,
Thérése and Céline lay in turn in this loculus of stone
which had guarded through so many centuries the body
of the gentle saint, ‘‘ the Queen of Harmony.’’?

This moment marked for Thérése the beginning of a
new devotion. She felt for St Cecilia not only veneration,
but the real love of a friend. ‘“‘She became,” says
Thérese, “my saint of predilection, my intimate con-
fidante. What above all gained my love was her perfect
abandonment to God, her unlimited confidence, which
enabled her to convert to virginity souls who had never
a thought before but to seek their joys in the things of
earth.

At the tomb of St Agnes she experienced the same
emotion. She picked up and carried away with her a
small fragment of the ancient mosaic as a souvenir for her
dear Pauline (Sceur Agnés de Jésus).

The days following the expeditions to these celebrated

1 Histoire d’une Ame, ch. vi, p. 102.

* 'The reproduction of Maderna’s statue had not, at this time,
been placed there.

8 Histoire d’une Ame, ch. vi, p. 103.

VOCATION TO CARMEL 161

places where Thérése sought only food for her fervour,
were devoted to visiting the principal churches and other
monuments that history or art has immortalized.

It was proposed, and had even been made the subject
of a wager, that they should see in six days the most famous
wonders at least of the Eternal City. Thus, to fulfil their
programme, they had usually to hasten along after a guide
. who too often allowed but little time for prayer even in
- the most venerated places.

To make matters worse, the rain never ceased to harass
the pilgrims; every cupola and obelisk had for background
a leaden sky.

Visited under these conditions, the greater basilicas,
including St Peter’s, then the Scala-Santa and the Mamer-
tine prison, without counting the museums and private
galleries, do not seem to have left any vivid impression on
Thérése, since she does not mention them in her autobio-
graphy.1

“At Rome,” she writes, “in the church of the Holy
Cross of Jerusalem, we venerated several fragments of the
true Cross, two of the thorns, and one of the sacred nails.
In order to examine them more at leisure, I managed to
remain last, and as the religious who had charge of the
precious treasures was preparing to replace them on the
altar, I asked him if I might touch them. He replied in
the affirmative, though appearing doubtful that I should
succeed. I then put my little finger through an opening
in the reliquary, and was thus able to touch one of the
precious nails once bathed in Our Saviour’s Blood. I
acted towards Him, as can be seen, like a child who believes
that everything is allowed her, and who regards as her own
the treasures of her Father.’’?

Besides, she became more and more preoccupied by

1 She makes exception for the Basilica of the Holy Cross of
Jerusalem, where she enjoyed a privilege which she gladly
acknowledges.

2 Histoire d’une Ame, ch. vi, p. 110.

II

162 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

the thought of the Pontifical audience fixed for November
20, and of the petition which she was to address to the
Holy Father.

Early on the morning of the appointed day, the carriages
arranged for by the Agency came to the hotels beneath a
continuous downpour of rain and took the different groups
of pilgrims to the Vatican. At half-past seven, all had
assembled under the leadership of Mgr Germain and the
Abbé Reverony, with the Bishops of Nantes, Séez, and
Vanne ina vast hall hung with red damask, and occupied
at one end by an altar of surprising simplicity. Here the
Sovereign Pontiff was to celebrate the Holy Sacrifice, after
which he had promised to receive the members of the
pilgrimage.

Exactly at eight, Leo XIII appeared, wearing a flowing
red mantle over his white woollen cassock. Having given
a silent blessing to the assembly, he knelt to prepare for
the Holy Sacrifice, and the pilgrims realized how this
great Pope, so renowned for powerful doctrine and great
governing ability, was, at the same time, a man of prayer
and recollection in presence of the Saint of Saints.

With deathly pale countenance, ascetic in its worn
appearance, and eyelids lowered over the dark eyes,
ordinarily so sparkling with light, he communed with his
God. His lips moved slowly as in that prayer where a
few words sustain the intensity of inward feeling. He
rose from prayer, and one noticed that, although his
frail frame was scarce bent by age, he had to lean his already
trembling hands on the arms of his chaplains to ascend
the altar.

The Papal Mass was to console Thérése for all the
prayers said perforce so hurriedly during the preceding
days. ‘To see Leo XIII at the altar was better than any
sermon. He pronounced the Latin in a slow and
measured voice. His Italian accent sometimes prevented
the French congregation from catching the words per-
fectly. But what faith, what tender piety was in his tone,

VOCATION TO CARMEL 163

in his attitude, even in his least action. What unction,
above all, in the prayers after Mass, which he had himself
composed and prescribed for the universal Church.

Leo XIII impressed Thérése as a truly saintly Pontiff,
and when after the Mass of thanksgiving celebrated by
one of the chaplains, he went into the Audience Chamber
to receive the pilgrims, the young girl felt strongly drawn
to speak to him as to a father.

Theaudience commenced without great formality, almost
with the intimacy of a family reunion. Mgr Germain
presented in turn every member of his flock, giving name
and rank, and, in certain cases, their title to a special
blessing from the Holy Father, who, himself seated on an
ordinary armchair raised on one or two steps, and wearing
his soutane and camail, took the hand of each one, spoke
a few fatherly words, gave fervently his blessing, and
presented a commemoration medal.

Next in turn came the Bayeux pilgrims; but Mgr
Germain did not present these. M. Reverony, with a
little less good grace perhaps, watched to see that the for-
malities of the audience be, above all, scrupulously ob-
served. Had he a suspicion that Thérése Martin, in a
full public audience of the Sovereign Pontiff, in presence
of the high dignitaries who surrounded him, and in sight
and hearing of over a hundred people, would dare to
address to Leo XIII the petition deferred by the Bishop of
Bayeux ?

Be that as it may, when he saw the two sisters, with calm
and resolute faces beneath their black mantillas, approach
the Pontifical throne, he announced in a loud voice that
he absolutely forbade anyone to speak to the Holy Father.
What was to be done? Thérése looked imploringly for a
sign from Céline. To obey the injunction would mean

1 The writer of these lines was introduced by Mgr Germain
as the author of a Manual on Thomistic Philosophy, and the
Pope of the Encyclical Zterni Patris deigned to address to him
the most encouraging congratulations.

164 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

seeing destroyed in one instant the hope that had sustained
the two during a journey of 500 leagues. ‘‘ Speak!” said
her elder sister.

A moment afterwards Thérése is at the feet of Leo XIII.
She quickly kisses the Pontiff’s foot, grasps his extended _
hand, then, with eyes bathed in tears, exclaims: “Most
Holy Father, I have a great favour to ask.”

The Pope bent down his head until it touched Thérése’s
mantilla. His dark piercing eyes sought to read those of
the child.

She continued: “‘ Most Holy Father, in honour of your
Jubilee, permit me to enter Carmel at fifteen.”

Here was the famous petition feared by M. Reverony.
No doubt he did not wish it said that what had been
refused at Bayeux had been obtained in Rome. Standing,
as he was, beside the Sovereign Pontiff, he believed that he
should interfere. ‘‘ Most Holy Father,” he said, “‘ this
is a child who desires the life of Carmel, but the superiors
are, at the moment, considering the question.”

This was almost a dictation of the Pope’s answer.

“Well, my child,” said His Holiness, ‘‘ do whatever
the superiors shall decide.”

Thérése joined her hands and resting them on the
Pontiff’s knees said in a suppliant voice: “‘ O Holy Father,
if you only said yes everyone else would agree.”

Leo XIII looking at her fixedly and with kindness, said
in an earnest voice: “ Well, my child, you shall enter if it
be God’s will.”

This reply, though evasive, was not a refusal, and left
room for the Bishop’s authorization.

The other pilgrims were waiting their turn. Thérése
was preparing to renew her petition when two of the
noble guard told her to rise. As she still remained
kneeling, hoping for a favourable answer, they took her
by the arms, and M. Reverony had to come to their aid
before she would relinquish her post at the knees of the
Sovereign Pontiff.

VOCATION TO CARMEL 165

It was over; the journey had failed in its object, at least
until Mgr Hugonin should again intervene. The poor
child retired in desolation. When her father, who had
received the Pope’s blessing before her, met her coming
out from the audience, she was bathed in tears, which she
made no effort to dry... . The dark mass of cloud over
the city continued to pour down torrents of rain, and
Thérése remarked once more the harmony between her
soul and the heavens which seemed as though wishing to
share in her griefs as well as in her joys.

This time her disappointment was profound ; but despite
her bitter sadness, Thérése remained mistress over that
pure region where her will, dominating the lower facul-
ties, insured that serene happiness which results from
union with God’s holy will.

The young girl had done all in her power to answer
Heaven’s call. The Almighty had judged fit to over-
throw her calculations and hopes; the trial was hard, but,
interiorly, she experienced great peace. A simple reflec-
tion made her, moreover, accept lovingly this Divine
providence in her regard. She had offered herself some
time before to the Infant Jesus as His plaything—‘‘ His
little ball,” as she expressed it. It was, then, only natural
to see herself tossed to right or left, driven here and there
or even pierced, according to His good pleasure. ‘The
treatment, apparently so rigorous, which had been
meted out to her was the consequence of her offering.
Jesus had accepted that offering. Will not his acceptance
be the source, was it not already the presage of that
“perfect joy” promised, in spite of dire tribulation, to
those who give themselves to God without reserve ?

Thérése returned with her father to the hotel. Some
days later M. Martin went to visit a venerable religious,
Brother Simeon, founder, and, at that time, Superior of
St Joseph’s college.

He met there the Abbé Reverony whom he gently
reproached for not having aided Thérése in her difficult

166 st ‘THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

enterprise, and he made known in a few words to Brother
Simeon his daughter’s heroic attempt. ‘‘’That never
happens in Italy,” saidthe old man. These words were
meant, perhaps, as an indirect lesson for the Vicar-General,
so little inclined to favour this noble and generous design.
M. Reverony did not defend himself. He believed he had
interpreted his Bishop’s wishes; that, to his conscience,
was sufficient. It is probable, too, that his long-standing
habits of administrative prudence suppressed the enthu-
siasm which was, no doubt, required before taking part
in this apparently rash project.

The day following the Papal audience had been chosen
for a visit to Naples and Pompeii. ‘They set out at early
morning. Ina few hours, after a passing sight of Aquino,
the native place of St Thomas, and the celebrated monas-
tery of Monte Cassino, the travellers reached Pompeii.

The sadness of this ruined city corresponded to the
state of 'Thérése’s soul. She would have liked to wander
alone through the abandoned streets and ruined palaces,
to meditate at leisure on the decay of earthly splendour,
but she had to follow the merciless guide, surrounded by
the pilgrims who had been caught in a shower of rain, and
were little disposed to stand still admiring roofless houses.

The departure for Naples was a happy diversion.
Thérése, who so lately was deeply impressed by the sight
of the sea during her holiday at 'Trouville, would naturally
be enraptured on beholding the Bay of Naples, dominated
as it is by the great Vesuvius and its threatening crater.

The town shelters beneath a hill on which stands a
noble convent, now, alas, bereft of its monks. Its halls,
adorned with fine frescoes, sculpture, and mosaic work,
have been converted into a museum, so that, at the San
Martino monastery, the traveller can enjoy priceless
treasures of art and the still more astonishing marvels of
nature.

The view from this beautiful spot would assuredly, at
another time, have greatly delighted Thérése, but, on

VOCATION TO CARMEL 167

the morrow of her disappointment at the Vatican, she felt
keenly the powerlessness of earthly things to bring joy
to her soul. Nor did the wondrous Bay of Naples any
more than its rich hotels awaken feelings of gladness
within her, for she writes later, recalling this excursion:
“T felt truly that joy is not to be found in the things that
surround us; it resides in our inmost soul. We can
possess joy in the depths of an obscure prison as well as
in a royal palace.’’!

A threatened accident had, it is true, helped to cloud
her visit to Naples. Coming down the hill from San
Martino the horses took the bit between their teeth and
ran away; she owed it to the protection of her angel
guardian that she arrived safe and sound at the hotel”
where they were all to pass the night.

The desire to return to France took possession of the
Martin family, and it was with pleasure that Thérése saw,
on the following day at Rome, preparations for the home-
ward journey.

Their departure was fixed for November 24. ‘The train
left at six o’clock in the morning for the north of Italy.
At one of the first stops Mgr Legoux came to the door
of the carriage where Céline and her sister alone remained.
He looked attentively at Therése, then smiling, said to
her: ‘‘ Well, how is our little Carmelite?” ‘lhe poor
child, who had thought that her petition to the Holy
Father was known only to those who were quite near at
the time, now understood that all the pilgrims knew her
secret. ‘This made her suffer all the more, but only, in
truth, because of her scrupulous reserve and modesty,
for, on her own avowal, the revelation won for her some

‘< sympathetic ” glances, which never went beyond the
bounds of discretion, as her perfect reserve during the
journey had gained the respect of all.

The writer of these lines had heard since the departure
from Rome the touching history of this young girl of

1 Histoire d’une Ame, ch. vi, p. 109.

168 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

Lisieux, who had dared to ask Leo XIII for permission
to bury herself at fifteen in an austere convent. The
incident was spoken of in his compartment with curiosity,
but also with unfeigned admiration, so much so, that he
became greatly desirous of seeing this child, so impatient
to leave all for God. But the train continued on its
way without a stop; interesting sights succeeded one
another; soon the charms of the beautiful pilgrimage
gave place to the ordinary cares of everyday life, so that
after long years it required the fame of St Thérése’s
miracles to recall to her present humble biographer
that he had lived for a whole month in her immediate
vicinity.

After skirting the beautiful lake of Pérouse, the pilgrims
alighted on a clear sunlit evening at the foot of the hill
at Assisi.

The traces of the “ poor one ’”’ who had found “ perfect
joy ’’ in complete renunciation had naturally an attraction
for a young girl drawn to the lowly poverty of Carmel.
So great was her ardour in seeking these out at the convent
of Assisi, that she mislaid, in her distraction, some small
articles of dress, and when the time came for departure,
she was so preoccupied in looking for them that she let
the carriage which was to take her to the station go off
without her.

There remained but one more conveyance, that of
M. Reverony, and this was already full. On pain of
missing the train, Thérése had to reveal her critical
position to the priest whom she instinctively dreaded more
than ever.

The Abbé Reverony was a man capable of generosity,
and, at times, of a certain delicate kindness. Conscious
of the pain that he had caused Thérése, he asked one of
his companions to sit with the driver, and placed the child
opposite to himself in the best seat.

She felt “ like a squirrel caught in a trap.”’ He, deter-
mined to make her feel at ease, spoke to her continually

VOCATION TO CARMEL 169

about Carmel, promising to do all in his Weeks to realize
her desire of entering at fifteen.

These words cheered her for the rest a the journey.
She avows, however, that after so many disillusions ‘‘ she
had lost confidence in creatures, and could no longer rely —
on anyone but God alone.”

Be that as it may, her soul had regained its calm when
she reached Florence on her homeward way. Here again
nature displays splendours which would have delighted
the pilgrims; but, once more, dark rain-clouds hid the
horizon. They had to content themselves with a visit
to the principal buildings. While her fellow-travellers
wandered through the galleries of the Uffizi or the Pitti
Palace, which contain the richest collections of art in the
world, Thérése, feeling, even amidst these marvels, the
attraction of Carmel, hastened to the convent where
St Magdalen of Pazzi had lived, and kneeling before her
tomb, she begged the saint to obtain entrance for her into
that house of her Order, where she unceasingly asked to
be admitted.

Numerous pilgrims wished to touch with their rosary
beads the relics of the saint. Thérése’s hand alone was
found small enough to pass through the grating which
protected the venerated body. She rendered service thus
to each one who passed their rosary beads to her, and this
“* noble office,”’ as she tells us, made her feel very proud.

A short delay only was made at Pisaand Genoa. They
weré anxious to return to France, and Thérése, in her
autobiography, makes merely a passing reference to these
towns. But her poetic soul could not refrain from paying
a final tribute to the Italian coast, along. which lay their
way to the French frontier: ‘‘ We returned to France,”
she says, ‘“‘ by a splendid route. We now skirted along
by the sea, and one day during a storm the railway ran
so close to the water’s edge that the waves seemed almost
to reach us. Further on, we travelled through plains
covered with orange-trees, olives, and graceful palms.

170 ~—«sSST.: THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

At evening-time the numerous seaports gleamed with
brilliant lights while, in the firmament above, the first
stars faintly sparkled. Yet, without regret, I watched this
fairy-like tableau vanish away ; my heart aspired to greater
things.’”!

Having venerated Notre-Dame de la Garde at Marseilles,
and Notre-Dame de Fourviére at Lyons, the pilgrims
hastened towards Paris, where theyarrived on December 2.
The dispersion of the various groups commenced imme-
diately ; the pilgrimage was ended.

M. Martin was, as we know, a born traveller. Whether
to console Thérése after her recent disappointments, or
to shorten the period of waiting which, seemingly, was to
be imposed on her before entering Carmel, he offered,
probably during the journey from Paris to Lisieux, to
take her on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem; but this proposal
held no attraction for the young girl. Instead of contem-
plating new horizons, she wished to be shut in between
the four walls of a cell. Moreover, in spite of every
bitter failure, she had not yet given up her old and
cherished idea of entering Carmel on December 25.

No sooner had she reached Lisieux than she hastened
to the convent to tell her sisters the result of the journey.
Having exhausted in vain all her resources, she asked for
advice and support, especially from Sceur Agnés de Jésus,
who had always encouraged her desire to consecrate
herself to God without delay. ‘This sister reminded her
that the Bishop of Bayeux had promised her a written
reply, a reply that one might hope would be favourable,
and which had not yet been received. She consequently
advised her to write to the Bishop asking to be allowed
to enter the cloister at the coming feast of Christmas.
She did so, but Mgr Hugonin remained silent.

However, on January 1, 1888, Thérése received from
the Prioress, Mére Marie de Gonzague, a letter informing
her that the Bishop had addressed his reply to the monas-

1 Histoire d'une Ame, ch. vi, p. 111.

VOCATION TO CARMEL 171

tery on December 28, that he sanctioned her immediate
entrance, but that she herself thought it better to defer
her entrance until after Lent. Thérése learnt later that
the Mother Prioress had imposed this slight delay in
order to soothe the susceptibilities of M. Delatroétte, who
still maintained his opposition, and also to spare the
postulant from undergoing, at the very beginning, the
’ rigour of a Carmelite Lent.

At first this decision was extremely painful to Thérése.
But she found means of sanctifying those months of
waiting by endeavouring more than ever to forget self
for others.

She thus prepared herself beforehand for the life of
renunciation which was soon to be imposed on her by
the rule, and tied herself down in advance to the austere
practices of the novitiate, which had such an attraction
for her generous spirit.

CHAPTER VII

THE CARMEL OF LISIEUX—THERESE AS POSTULANT, AND HER
RECEPTION—TERRIBLE TRIAL—-PROGRESS IN DETACH-
MENT

OWARDS the centre of old Lisieux, not far from

the church of St Jacques, in a narrow street

bordered in part by antique wood-stayed houses,

stands the convent which Thérése Martin was to render
famous all the world over.

The beautiful chapel, embellished and enlarged in
honour of her who has become its glory, though unchanged
in its essential parts, did not present, at Thérése’s entrance,
the same aspect as today. As to the rest, the cloister
has not changed, and the saint who lived there would,
if it were given her to return, recognize its every detail.

Nothing could be more simple than the austere and
geometrical architecture of this convent, built of red
brick and surmounted by a little slate-roofed dome.
Its garden, closed in between the muddy waters of the
Orbiquet river and the adjoining properties, occupies
but a narrow space, and the perfect arrangement of its
walks does not take away the impression of smallness.

This monastery had heroic beginnings, almost equal to
the first Spanish Foundations of St Teresa of Avila.

Established in 1838 in a small thatched house lent
them in the Chaussée de Beuvillers, the first four Lisieux
Carmelites, trained and governed by two nuns from
Poitiers, experienced the rigours of extreme poverty.

With their accommodation consisting of little more
than two miserable garrets, a poor oratory and a room

172

THE CARMEL OF LISIEUX 173

eighteen feet square divided into three compartments,
they lacked even the most necessary furniture.

A box in the kitchen served as a cupboard ; a chimney-
board, placed in a corner, did duty for a larder, while the
stone floor had to be used as a serving-table. The plates
and other utensils were so scarce that it was necessary to
wash the dishes during dinner for use again at the same
. meal.

It was from this stable of Bethlehem that Mére Elizabeth
de Saint-Louis, the Prioress, and Mére Geneviéve de
Sainte-Thérése, whom we shall meet later on, took their
little band to an old house in the rue de Liverot, which
was to be replaced by the present convent.

Here also long years of great hardship were endured,
so much so that more than once the sisters had to dine
on fried leeks. But the fervour of the community grew
in proportion to its privations. It was blessed, moreover,
by the prolonged government of one of those first nuns
from Poitiers, Mére Geneviéve de Sainte-Thérése,
chosen as Prioress after Mére Elizabeth’s death. She
was a religious of consummate humility, who, by dint of
application, had accustomed herself to carry out the
ordinary duties of daily life with rare and supernatural
perfection.

Her eminent virtue drew down blessings on the convent,
and with the arrival of new postulants came a much
- needed increase in material prosperity. Mére Aimée
de Jésus, future Prioress of the Carmel of Coutances,
who for three years governed the house of Lisieux after
the temporary deposition (enjoined by the rule) of Mere
Genevieve, was able, in 1858, to have the first large wing
of the present convent built, and Mére Marie de Gonzague,
who later succeeded Mére Geneviéve, undertook in 1876
the building which was to give the convent its definite
form.

The Carmel of Lisieux was therefore, when Thérése
Martin entered, a house already sanctified by heroic

174 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

sacrifice, where the most humble practices of the Carmelite
rule were ennobled and hallowed by the memories that
clustered around them.*

April 9, 1888, had been chosen for Thérése’s entrance.
Her last days of freedom were passed at Les Buissonnets,
hallowed by the tender love of her father and her two
sisters, Léonie? and Céline. Before parting with his
“little Queen,” M. Martin sought every occasion of
giving her pleasure. Returning from one of his country
walks, he brought her a little lamb only one day old, all
white and frizzly. Céline and Thérése were delighted ;
they instinctively loved these frail little creatures, seeing
in their delicate grace the smile of God; but, alas, their
poor lambkin died that same day. Meditating on this
disappointment, Thérése wrote to her sister Marie: ‘‘ We
should not become attached to anything on this earth, not
even to things most innocent, for they fail us at the
moment we least think. Only the eternal can fully
content us.”

On the evening of April 8, the family, consisting of the
father and the three sisters, to whom were added M. and
Mme Guérin with Jeanne and Marie, had taken their
places around the old oak table at which Thérése was to
sit for the last time. Everything in this room spoke to
the young girl of the happy past; a veritable sanctuary
it was, where so many affectionate words had been inter-
changed, so many conversations inspired and blessed by
God. ‘There were the two armchairs which had generally
been used by her parents during the intimate and restful
gatherings on winter evenings. There was the hearth,
the centre of attraction for all, from whose sparkling
flames radiated heat and joy. Even the walls themselves,

1 On this early period of its beginnings see The Foundation
of the Carmel of Lisieux, and its Foundress, Rev. Mére Genevieve
de Sainte-Thérése, Central Office, Lisieux.

* Léonie had returned home after a trial of the religious life

in the Novitiate of the Poor Clares, which her delicate health
made it impossible for her to continue.

THE CARMEL OF LISIEUX 175

silent witnesses of so much quiet happiness, of so many
loving confidences. To all these mute objects, which yet
seemed this evening to give expression to their grief,
she had to bid farewell.

But what was this separation from inanimate things in
comparison to the parting that awaited Thérése on the
following morning? ‘‘ Then, just when one would wish
. to be forgotten,” she wrote later, ‘‘ words of the deepest
- tenderness are on all lips, as though to make the sacrifice
of separation more keenly felt.’

The hour had come to leave all for God? “ That
morning,” continues Thérése, “‘ after a last glance at
Les Buissonnets, the charming nest of my childhood,
I departed for the Carmel. I assisted at holy Mass,
surrounded, as on the eve, by my dear ones. At the
moment of Communion, when Jesus descended into their
hearts, I heard nothing but the sound of weeping. As
for me, I did not shed tears; but as I walked on before
the others to the door of the cloister, my heart beat so
violently that I asked myself whether I was not about to
die. Ah, what a moment! What agony! One must
have experienced it in order to understand.

“* T embraced all, and knelt before my father to receive
his blessing. He too knelt and, weeping, he blessed me.
It was a sight to make the angels smile for joy—the old
man presenting his child to the Saviour while yet in the
springtime of her life. At last the doors of Carmel

1 Histoire d’une Ame, ch. vii, p. 116.

2 “* T witnessed the departure of my little sister for the
Carmel,”’ declares Léonie, ‘‘ and I was particularly struck by
her strength of soul. She alone was calm. ... I told her to
reflect well before entering religion, adding that my experience
had shown me that the life demands many sacrifices and should
not be lightly undertaken. The reply she gave me and the
expression of her countenance showed that she was ready for
every sacrifice, that she would accept all with joy.”’ Deposition
of Seur Frangoise-Thérése at the Process of the Ordinary,

ppt tT.

176 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

closed behind me, and there I received the embrace of
the two beloved sisters who had each been a mother to
me, and of a new family whose loving devotedness is
unknown to the world.’

The thought of living henceforth under the same roof
with Marie, her ever devoted elder sister, and Pauline,
her “‘ dear little mother,”’ the hope of being formed in
part by their example in the life of immolation, had no
share in the joy that inundated the soul of the postulant
from the moment of her entrance. Solely with the
enthusiasm inspired by sacrifice willingly undertaken, did
she look forward to the rude austerities of the religious
life. Everything in the monastery charmed her; she
believed herself transported into the desert which had
been the dream of her childhood; her cell above all, with
its cold bare walls, had an attraction for her which made
her say from the very first hour with a sigh of contentment:
“* Now I am here for ever.”

That she retained this happy impression speaks all
the more highly for her when we consider the words
of salutation with which M. Delatroétte thought fit to
greet her entrance into the convent. In presence of
M. Martin, the enclosure door being wide open, this
unyielding Superior had said dryly: ‘“‘ Well, my Reverend
Mothers, you can now chant a Te Deum. As the Bishop’s
delegate, I present to you this child of fifteen whose
entrance you have desired. I trust she may not disappoint
your hopes, but I remind you that if it should turn out
otherwise, the responsibility will be yours alone.’’? All
the Sisters were chilled by the attitude of this venerable
priest who seemed to set himself up as a prophet of evil.

This was the first mortification of Thérése in the

cloister to which she came to pray, suffer, and make
reparation.

1 Histoire d’une Ame, ch. vii, p. 116.

& eae a of Mere Agneés de Jésus at the Apostolic Process,
p. 162

THE CARMEL OF LISIEUX 177

Happily, the sad forebodings of M. Delatroétte did
not influence the judgement of her companions. On
the contrary, they felt from the outset the power of that
virtue which, all unconscious of itself, shone forth even
in the physical aspect of the postulant. ‘‘ From her
entrance,’ her Novice mistress has declared, ‘‘ the Servant
of God surprised the community by her bearing which
was marked by a certain majesty that one would not
expect in a child of fifteen.

What has been referred to as majesty “‘ did not exclude
either simplicity or a charming readiness to render
service,” since, on the testimony of the same religious,
““ she set herself to every duty with an admirable grace.”

Before following the details of her daily life, let us give
a rapid glance at the life she had chosen.

To commence here below, as perfectly as may be
possible, the life of contemplation led by the blessed
above, such is the aim of the Carmelite. And as the
life of heaven can be summed up in three actions which
are the eternal occupation of the saints—namely, to see,
love, and praise God—the Carmelite applies herself here
on earth to acquire a knowledge and love of the Divine
Majesty, as well as to praise Him, borrowing for hymn
and psalmody words dictated by the Holy Spirit Himself.
By the recitation of the Roman Breviary, to which the

1 Deposition of Mére Marie des Anges at the Apostolic Process,
p.184. The deposition of Mére Agnés de Jésus on this subject
is more explicit still. ‘‘ At her entrance,” she declares, “‘ the
Sisters, aware of her youthfulness, expected to seeachild. Her
presence, however, inspired them with respect; they admired her
dignified yet modest bearing and her air of deep resolve. One
of them, Sceur Saint-Jean de la Croix, who had been opposed
to the entrance of so young a postulant, said to me some time
afterwards: ‘ I thought that you would soon be sorry for all you
had done to give us your little sister.’ I said to myself, ‘ They
will both be disappointed.’ How deceived I was. Scur
Thérése de l’Enfant Jésus is extraordinary; she is an example
to us in everything.” Summarium of 1914, p. 679 (2831).

12

178 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

rule obliges her, by her reading and meditation, she has
on her lips, during six and often seven hours a day, the
word of God, and these inspired words must create in
her heart divine affections. Zeal for the glory of God
and the salvation of souls, the end and object proposed
by St Teresa of Avila to her daughters, must ever urge
them on.1

On the other hand, religious perfection is not obtained
without an entire detachment from creatures and a
deeply rooted distrust of self; and so the Carmelite
practises, during her whole life, many exercises of morti-
fication, of penance, obedience, and humility. Her rule
enjoins a continual fast from September 14 until Easter, in
addition to the prescribed fasts of the Church; every Friday
of the year and numerous vigils are added to this, with
perpetual abstinence except in cases of sickness. Obliged
also to profound silence save during the two hours of
daily recreation, spending a considerable portion of the
day in her cell or in the office assigned to her, where in
solitude and recollection she does her appointed work,
clothed in coarse serge, she has but a hard palliasse
supported on three planks on which to repose after her
prolonged vigils. And to these austerities of the rule
it is occasionally allowable to add those voluntary penances
which have been at all times familiar to the saints.

These austere mortifications are ordinarily insignifi-
cant in comparison to the assaults directed against self-
love and the caprices of the imagination. Acts of humility
publicly performed, the obligation of never excusing
herself though perhaps unjustly accused, or reproached
without cause, prompt, absolute, and unquestioning
obedience, even in the minutest details, to every superior
commanding in the name of God—such are the arms
unceasingly employed to bring her nature under subjec-
tion and lead her to the happy state of a spouse who

1 The motto of Carmel is ‘‘ Zelo zelatus sum pro Domino Deo
Exercituum.

THE CARMEL OF LISIEUX 179

loves God even to the extent of wholly immolating
herself for His glory.

Not in vain is this struggle against the old enemy
carried on in these shrines of joyous suffering. Little
by little, souls become detached and purified and more
Christ-like. There is, perhaps, no place in the world
where peace so abounds, where happiness so reigns, as
in the enclosures bounded by the sombre walls of Carmel.

Such was the life that Thérése Martin had just em-
braced in the hope of thus compensating for the insults
launched by the world against her well-beloved Saviour.

Mortifications were not slow in coming to this child,
who had made the offering of herself with disinterested
love. Providence permitted that she should find in the
character of certain superiors and companions a source
of suffering in addition to the rigours of the rule.

The monastery had now, for two years, been governed
by Mére Marie de Gonzague, who succeeded, in a
fourth term of three years, the venerable Mére Gene-
viéve de Sainte-Thérése, still living but weighed down
with infirmities.

Daughter of a noble Calvados family,’ the prioress in
office had, in the past, given proof of initiative and
administrative ability. These qualities, joined to a great
heart and a charming personality, due in part to careful
education in early years, had no doubt determined the
choice of the community.

But this active and richly endowed nature was not
without some defects. Very impressionable, and of
somewhat distrustful character, predisposed to melan-
choly, she did not always possess that even-balanced
judgement which makes rule beneficial and inspires sub-
ordinates with confidence.

Besides, although she had greatly desired the entrance
of Thérése Martin to the Carmel, she judged, as it would

1 She was born at Caen, in 1834.

180 — ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

seem, that a vocation so premature required to be specially
tested. As a result of this theory, and in consequence
of a certain natural impulsiveness not always held in
check, she made the child’s early religious life painful.

Note the frank admission of the postulant: “‘ From
the first,” she says, ‘“‘my way was strewn with more
thorns than roses. Bitter dryness was the daily food of
my soul. Then the Saviour permitted that I should be
very severely treated by our Mother, even unconsciously ;
I could never meet her without receiving some reproof.
Once, when I had left a cobweb in the cloister, I remember
her saying to me in presence of the whole community:
‘It can be easily seen that our cloisters have been swept
by a child of fifteen. Too bad! Go, sweep away that
cobweb, and learn to be more careful in future.’

“On the rare occasions when, for spiritual direction,
I spent an hour with her, I was reprimanded nearly all
the time, and what distressed me most was that I did
not understand how to correct my faults, for example,
my slowness and insufficient assiduity in the various
duties.

“One day, I said to myself that our Mother would,
no doubt, like me to be employed at work during the
free time usually devoted to prayer, and I plied my little
needle without raising my eyes; but no one ever knew
of it, as | wanted to be faithful and to act always for Jesus
alone.

** When I was a postulant, our Mistress would send me
at half-past four in the afternoon to weed in the garden.
This cost me a great deal, especially as I was almost sure
to meet Meére Marie de Gonzague on the way. She
said on one of these occasions: ‘ After all, this child does
absolutely nothing. What sort of novice would she be
who must be sent out every day for a walk?’ And it
was thus that she acted towards me in all things.’”!

Such was the treatment which Thérése was to receive

1 Histoire d’une Ame, ch. vii, p. 117.

THE CARMEL OF LISIEUX 181

for long years, the rigour of which, allowing for some
intervals of calm, was scarcely relaxed, even during her
last illness.

How she acted under this undoubtedly heavy hand
which was for her, nevertheless, always the hand of God,
we learn from the testimony of the Prioress herself.
““Meére Marie de Gonzague,” declares R. P. Godefroy
Madelaine,' ‘‘ confided to me that, in order to exercise
Seur Thérése’s virtue, she had studiously sought to
try her by affecting towards her a certain indifference and
severity. She has, moreover, testified to me that this
apparently harsh treatment had certainly been very
painful to the Servant of God, but that no pain had ever
caused her to deviate in the least from perfect obedience.”””

We shall revert to this obedience, which attained an
heroic degree in later years, and will ever be numbered
amongst the most meritorious virtues of the young nun.

After the Mother Prioress, to whom she felt at first
drawn by a sympathy so soon checked, the mistress of
novices, Mére Marie des Anges, contributed to the for-
mation of Thérése.

She was a good and pious religious of superior educa-
tion who had known Thérése as a little child, having
seen her from the age of nine come to the parlour to
visit her sister Pauline.* She had conceived for her a
real affection, which was increased by admiration for her
virtues. ‘‘ From her entrance,” she declared, “‘ Thérése
grew in grace and wisdom before God and before the

1 One time Prior of the Premonstratensian Abbey of Mondaye
(Calvados), and vice-provincal of his order in France, afterwards
Abbot of Saint-Michel de Frigolet.

2 Deposition of R. P. Godefroy Madelaine at the Apostolic
Process, p. 739.

8 She was a daughter of the de Chaumontel family, one of the
oldest and most deeply Christian in Calvados, which had as its
device: ‘“‘ Douceur et discrétion.”” She died in 1924, aged seventy

nine years.

182 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

community by a very constant correspondence with
Divine grace. This it is which explains to me the rapid
ascent of so young a child to the highest sanctity. Even
quite lately a venerable and holy nun said to me in
referring to Thérése’s novitiate: ‘ In truth, we had never
seen anything like it.’ ””*

From the outset, she too had procured for her novice
an increase of merit by unintentionally exercising her
patience. Not understanding, just at first, the special
grace of the little saint, which was that of interior silence,
she gave her during the early months long exhortations,
of which the fervour did not lessen the monotony, and
which rather impeded Thérése’s intimate communing
with Jesus and hindered her soul from ‘‘ expanding.”

But the esteem with which the virtues of this good
mistress inspired all the sisters soon triumphed over
this embarrassment.

It was to her, notwithstanding the difficulty at first of
expressing her feelings, that Thérése made known the
pain caused her by the Mother Prioress’s severity—not
that she dreamed of criticising or complaining—but
through a need of her affectionate and loyal nature.
“I see her still,” said Mére Marie des Anges, “‘ as she
came one day to confide to me the grief of her heart,
without, however, letting the least murmur of complaint
escape her. She discerned the providence of God
regarding her soul, and smiled in spite of everything.’

Seeing her pained, and sometimes physically weakened
by the austerities of the rule, the mistress of novices
tried to procure her some relaxation, in allowing her,
for instance, to prolong her sleep. Unfortunately, the
poor Mother was often absent-minded. Having for-
gotten to give her this alleviation for whole weeks together,
she would then oblige her, without sufficient reason,
to rest for fifteen consecutive days, and the Mother

1 Deposition at the Apostolic Process, p. 215.
2 Deposition at the Process of the Ordinary, p. 665.

THE CARMEL OF LISIEUX 183

Prioress, not seeing the novice at morning meditation,
blamed Thérése, who did not then know whom to
obey. :

The child hoped for a time to find support and light
in the counsel of the former Prioress, the venerable
Mére Geneviéve de Sainte-Thérése, now definitely
confined to bed, a prey to cruel suffering. But it was
decreed that no human consolation should ever enter
to lessen the merit of her generosity. Mére Geneviéve
was a saint favoured with supernatural lights. Never-
theless, Thérése did not receive from her the help that
she desired for her spiritual advancement. This good
Mother had, in more than one instance, prophetic visions
of the future; she did not, however, divine the sublime
destiny which awaited the humble postulant. She was
even frightened by the hardihood of her ideas, and dis-
concerted her by certain remarks; this, however, did not
prevent her from consoling Thérése in the exterior trials
with which she saw her afflicted.t Thérése profited
by the inspiring example given her by the piety of the
Foundress; but, excepting one instance which we shall
mention, she received from her few words of en-
couragement in her ascent to the heights of perfection.

There remains to note the influence of the confessor,
on whose help Thérése had the right to count on enter-
ing the cloister. Abbé Youf, chaplain to the Carmel of
Lisieux, was a priest of true piety and austere virtue,
but whose spiritual activity was restricted by ill-
health. It was impossible to obtain from him direction
properly so called. He was not long, however, in noticing
the rare qualities of the new-comer; he did not hesitate

1 See the biography of La Révérende Meére Genevieve de
Sainte-Thérése, p. 88. One day, for example, when M. Martin
was in a condition which was most painful to the hearts of his
daughters, Mére Genevieve, then an invalid, sent for Thérése
and her sisters, and calmed their fears by repeating to them a
word which Our Saviour had said to her, and which was verified
on the following day. JIbid., p. 89.

/
184 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

to speak most highly of her, and favoured, as far as
discretion permitted, her desire for daily Communion.

Up to this time Thérése does not seem to have felt
real need of a spiritual director. During the two years
preceding her entrance to Carmel, God did not make
use of an intermediary to instruct her regarding her
vocation; at most He had given her a certain insight into
convent life and the spirit of the Order by means of her
sister Pauline, who was already a religious. But once
across the threshold of the cloister, this light became
dim; trials of darkness and aridity were added to the
other sufferings sent her by the Divine Master for the
purification of her soul. Henceforth, she sought counsel
from the priests who came to the monastery.

Excepting the chaplain, who was but feeble support to
her, she saw only, and that at rare intervals, the preacher
of the retreat.

All did not understand her. Pére Blino, of the Society
of Jesus, a holy man undoubtdely, and well versed in
the ways of spirituality, considered rash her ardour for
self-immolation, and in his opinion, these outbursts of
love were scarcely compatible with a religious formation
which was yet only in its commencement.’

Another Jesuit saw further and more clearly. Born
in the vicinity of Alencon, at Carrouges, Pére Almire

1 “ Several confessors and preachers of retreats,”’ declares
Mere Agnés de Jésus, ‘‘ succeeded in frightening her or para-
lysing her ardent desires. ‘ Father, I want to become a saint,’
she said one day to R. P. Blino; ‘ I want to love the good God
as much as St Teresa did.’ ‘,What pride and presumption!’
he replied. ‘Confine yourself to the correction of your faults;
see that you offend the good God no more, make each day some
little progress, and moderate your rash desires.’ ‘ But, Father,
I do not think that these desires can be called rash, since our
Saviour has said, “ Be ye perfect, as your heavenly Father is
perfect... .”’ But the priest was not convinced.” Sum-
marium of 1919, p. 248 (605).

THE CARMEL OF LISIEUX 185

Pichon was an eminent religious who excelled in his
particular work as preacher of Retreats.

Sent by his superiors to Canada in 1886, he returned
to France in 1887 for some months. Thérése was then
fourteen. On the advice of her sisters, whose director
he was, she told him of her desire for the religious life,
and he was probably the only ecclesiastic to encourage
her project of entering the Carmel without delay, even
if, to obtain permission, she must have recourse to the
Sovereign Pontiff.

During the year 1888, Pére Pichon came to give the
Exercises at the Carmel of Lisieux, where he again met
Thérése, and he thought that he had only to encourage
her in the way of trustful love, the safety and efficacy
of which he everywhere dwelt upon in his preaching.
This was, alas, the time when the poor child, plunged
as she was in aridity, asked herself with bitter disquietude
if she were worthy of love or hatred.

The Father commenced by restoring peace to her
soul. But let us hear her tell of the benefits of his
direction, though given but in passing.

“R. P. Pichon was himself surprised, two months
after my entrance, at the work of God in my soul; he
thought my fervour quite childlike and my way very
sweet. This little conference with the good Father
might have brought me great consolation but for the
extreme difficulty which I| felt in laying open my heart.
I, nevertheless, made a general confession to him, after
which he spoke these words: ‘ In the presence of God,
of the Blessed Virgin, of all the Angels and Saints, I
declare that you have never committed a single mortal sin.
Render thanks to the Saviour who has given you this
grace gratuitously without any merit on your part.’

“Without any merit on my part! Ah, I had no
difficulty in believing this. I felt how feeble and im-

1 In 1915, four years before his death, he had already given
- 1,015 Retreats.

186 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

perfect I was; gratitude alone filled my soul. The fear
of having stained the white robe of my baptism had
caused me much suffering, and this assurance, coming
from the lips of a director who, according to the desire
expressed by our Mother St Teresa, ‘joined knowledge
to virtue,’ seemed to come from God Himself. The good
Father also said to me: ‘ My child, may Our Saviour
be always your Superior, and your Novice Master.’ He
was so, in truth, and my Director too.... Hardly
had Pére Pichon taken charge of my soul than his
superiors sent him to Canada. Reduced, hence-
forth, to receive from him but one letter a year,
the ‘little Flower’ turned towards the Director of -
directors.”

Some time afterwards, Thérése met another priest
who came to give a Retreat, and who perfectly under-
stood the state of her soul; but his help was also to be
but passing, so that she had again to implore the aid of
her heavenly Director.

She then accustomed herself to seek guidance and
consolation either in the Holy Scripture or in writings
where the doctrine and general tone more vividly re-
called the word of God.

On the testimony of her sister Céline, who was later
to have her as novice mistress, ‘‘ she studied the Sacred
Scriptures in order to know the character of the good
God. The different senses of Scripture distressed her.
‘ If I had been a priest,’ she said, ‘ I would have diligently
studied Greek and Hebrew, in order to know the Divine

1 Histoire d’une Ame, ch. vii, p. 119. The following are a
few lines of the deposition made later by R. P. Pichon at the
Process of Beatification: “It was easy to direct that child; the
Holy Spirit led her, and I do not think that I ever had, either
then or later on, to warn her against illusion. . .

“What struck me during that retreat were the spiritual trials
through which God made her pass. I had then a very strong
impression that the good God willed to make her a great
saint.” Summarium of 1919 (362 and 364).

THE CARMEL OF LISIEUX 187

thought as God deigned to express it in our human
language.””!

It would appear, too, that the light of the Holy Spirit
supplied for her want of knowledge of Eastern languages,
for, if we rely on the testimony of Scur Marie de la
Trinité, who made her novitiate under Scur Thérése’s
direction, “‘ she interpreted the books of Holy Scripture
with unheard-of facility. One would have said that these
Divine books had no meaning hidden from her, so well
was she able to discover all their beauty.’

Thus is her love for liturgical prayer explained, a love
that began on her entrance to the convent, and which
’ was to go on increasing until her death. She affirms
this herself in enthusiastic words which show the clearness
with which she perceived, through these sacred writings,
the radiance of the Spirit of God. ‘‘ How happy I was,”
she says, ‘‘ when, officiating at the Divine Office, I said
the prayers out loud in the centre of the choir. I re-
flected then that the priest recited the same prayers at
Mass, and that, like him, I had the right to pray aloud
before the Blessed Sacrament, and to read the Gospel
when I was First Chantress. I can say truly that the
Divine Office has been, at the same time, my joy and my
martyrdom, for I had a great desire to recite it without
fault, and yet, in spite of all my application, I made
mistakes.”’®

Together with the Sacred Scriptures, Thérése had to
make a deep study, at the commencement of her life
in the convent, of the writings of St Teresa and St John
of the Cross,‘ which are considered as classics in the
Carmelite Order. She loved the beautiful and mystical
lyrics of this latter, and became very deeply imbued with
his doctrine.

1 Testimony of Sceur Genevieve de la Sainte-Face at the
Apostolic Process, p. 330.

2 Testimony at the Apostolic Process, p. 702.

3 Unpublished notes. 4 More particularly those of the latter.

188 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

The novice’s predilection for the Imitation is already
known; she had no need to re-read it, as she knew the
whole book by heart. But the fruit that she had drawn
from it inspired her with the thought of studying another
book, which is nothing else but its commentary.

The work formerly published by Pere Surin under
the title The Foundations of the Spiritual Life, drawn
from the Imitation of Christ, presents, among other merits,
that of participating in the admirable simplicity and
penetrating unction of the text that it expounds. It
constitutes, moreover, a perfect manual of detachment,
since it inculcates above all, contempt of the world,
detachment from all earthly riches, mortification of the
senses, and self-abnegation. This was sufficient re-
commendation for Therese, already practised by the
Divine Master in every degree of patience, to make of
this book her constant companion.

Another work, simple in style but remarkably lucid,
which had for her an equal charm, was the treatise of
Mgr de Ségur, entitled Piety and the Interior Life.
The saintly prelate therein insists on the idea that the
chief means of living the life of Jesus is diligent meditation
on His Gospel. No doctrine could be more adapted to
the long-standing and ever increasing attraction of
Thérése for this Divine book, which, in the end, absorbed
all her attention, to the exclusion of every human book.
A word on the place which it held in her interior life.

After her entrance to the convent, the fervent Carmel-
ite succeeded in finding the four Gospels in one volume
small enough to allow of its being carried constantly
near her heart, and she was faithful to this practice until
her death. Furthermore, at a time when she was under-
going grievous temptations against faith, she wrote the
entire Credo with her blood in this book, as counselled
by one of her confessors.

To her most intimate confidantes she explained this

THE CARMEL OF LISIEUX 189

devotion. She wrote, for example, to the Mother
Prioress: “It is the Gospels, which, above all, occupy
my mind during mental prayer. From them I draw
everything necessary for my poor little soul. I ever
discover there new lights, hidden and mysterious mean-
ings.’’!

And again: ‘‘ When I read certain treatises where many
obstacles to perfection are shown, my poor mind grows
tired very quickly; I close the learned book which wearies
my head and dries up my heart, and I take instead the
Holy Scripture. Then, everything appears to me in
clear light; a single word opens out infinite horizons to
my soul; perfection seems easy to me; I realize that it is
sufficient to recognize one’s nothingness, and to abandon
oneself as a child in the arms of God.’”?

These last words show clearly where Thérése found
the idea of the “ Little Way ”’ of perfection, which she
was afterwards to recommend to every soul. It was
in the Gospel itself, in the Gospel clearly understood,
which preaches unceasingly the way of abandonment and
filial love towards our Heavenly Father. Could we find,
in truth, a doctrine more frequently inculcated in the
sacred text than that of our Divine sonship? And if
we are really and literally the sons of God, is it not our
first duty to becomeas little children towards Him? And
consequently, shall we not be pleasing to Him in such
measure as we show ourselves little and humble and
trustful? It is important to note in passing the purely
evangelical origin of this way of perfection which, in a
few years, led the young religious to the highest degrees
of Divine union.

Exercised in detachment by the Mother Prioress,
formed by the mistress of novices in the practices of
cloister-life, instructed by the occasional counsel of an
experienced director, and by the study of a few ascetical

1 Histoire d’une Ame, ch. viii, p. 146.
2 Letter published at the end of the Histoire d’une Ame, p. 370.

190 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

books, Thérése de l’Enfant Jésus had, above and beyond
all these, as principal and soon as sole teacher, the Divine
Saviour Himself, making known in His Gospel the secret
of sanctity.

She could have equally relied on the help of her own
two sisters in religion to initiate her into the spirit of
Carmel. But the postulant’s relations with her elder
sisters were altogether different from what friends
outside expected. On seeing this charming, intelligent,
and gentle-mannered child of fifteen enter the Carmel,
the natural conclusion, judging from a worldly point of
view, was that she would be the “‘ pet ”’ of the community,
and that her two elder sisters could never show her
enough affectionate attention. Her real position in
regard to them would have caused astonishment had it
been known outside the Carmel. Persuaded that in
the religious life more than anywhere else, perfect charity
requires the sacrifice of natural affection, at least as
regards its external manifestation, Thérése, loving, sensi-
tive, and tender as she was, mortified herself to the extent
of never seeking the company of Sceur Agnés de Jésus
or Scur Marie du Sacré-Ceeur. At recreation, she
took her place indifferently beside whoever came first,
or rather, made sure of being near to one who seemed
to her forlorn.

If one of her own sisters were sick, she did not feel
that she had any right to go to see her until other nuns
had been before her in this little act of kindness.

Certain admissions reveal, it is true, the cruel constraint
she put on herself in such cases. During her last illness
she was asked what she would have done if one of her
sisters had been ill instead of herself.

“Would you have gone to the infirmary during re-
creation ?”

““ No, I would have gone straight to recreation without
making any inquiry; but I would have done it quite

THE CARMEL OF LISIEUX 191

simply, so that no one would notice the sacrifice I was
making.”

As regards visits to the parlour, she practised the same
self-effacement, the same voluntary privation of family
affection. With the exception of her beloved Léonie
and Céline, whom she knew she ought to console in
their loneliness by showing her tenderness for them,
Thérése allowed her visitors to talk on while she listened,
saying scarcely a word, and was the first to leave when
the appointed time came.

But in this school of renunciation, she learned that
love renders every suffering sweet; she enjoyed profound
peace, even in the apparent abandonment of creatures,
even under heavy trials which, humanly speaking, should
have dismayed her. The following lines, bearing the
date of this period, are addressed to Céline at Les Buis-
sonnets: “‘ You are right, life is often oppressive and sad ;
it is hard to begin the day’s work, especially when Jesus
hides Himself from our love. What is He doing, this
sweet Friend? Does He not see our distress, the heavy
weight that presses upon us? Where is He? Why
does He not come to console us? Céline, have no fear;
He is there, quite near. He is looking at us. It is He
who asks of us this suffering, these tears... . He has
need of them for the sake of souls, for our soul, as He
wants to give us so glorious a reward. Oh, I assure you
that it costs Him a great deal to plunge us thus in bitter-
ness; but He knows that it is the only way of preparing
us to know Him as He knows Himself, to become as gods
ourselves! What a destiny, how great is our soul! Let
us rise above passing things, let us hold ourselves aloof

1 Deposition of Mére Agnés de Fésus at the Process of the
Ordinary, p. 570. ‘These acts of self-abnegation which un-
enlightened worldlings may judge with severity have been
called “‘ magnificent ”’ by R. P. Auriault, S.J., one of the most
authoritative witnesses who gave evidence on the Saint’s doctrine
at the Process of Beatification.

192 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

from earth; high up the air is so pure! Jesus may hide
Himself, but one divines His presence. . . .””*

A child who, at fifteen, soared to these heights, could
still be wounded by the thorns on the way in her inter-
mittent contact with earth, but she could neither be
brought down nor slackened in her flight.

This rare virtue, moreover, quickly gained the secret
admiration of the superiors who had believed it their
duty to try her. Mére Marie de Gonzague, always so
strict in regard to her, declared freely that she was a
treasure for the Carmel, ‘‘ the best of the best; an angel.”
What was of greater value, she permitted her to take the
holy Habit—not, it is true, at the normal time, that is,
after six months as postulant—but on January 10, 1889.”

The preparatory retreat for her clothing was passed
by Thérése in that aridity of soul by which Jesus was
pleased to purify her. But the following lines, addressed
at the time to Sur Agnés de Jésus, reveal to us her
perfect comprehension of this Heaven-sent trial.

““. ..In my soul’s intercourse with Jesus there is
nothing, nothing but dryness and sleep! Since my
Well-beloved wills to remain asleep, I will not prevent
Him; I am too happy in seeing that He does not treat
me as a stranger, that He is not constrained with me. . . .

“I am happy, yes, truly happy to suffer... O
mother, if you knew how ardently I wish to become
indifferent to the things of earth. What is created beauty
tome? I should be exceedingly unhappy in its posses-
sion. Oh, how great my heart appears when I compare
it to the goods of this world, since all these united could
not satisfy it. But when I consider it in relation to
Jesus, how small it then seems.

1 Letter of May 8, 1888, published at the end of the Histoire
dune Ame, p. 315.

2 This delay has been attributed to the opposition of M.

Delatroétte, who did not cease to put forward the extreme
youthfulness of the postulant,

THE CARMEL OF LISIEUX 193

“How good He is to me, He who will soon be my
Fiancé. How divinely lovable He is in not allowing me
to become captive to anything here below. He well
knows that if He sent me even one ray of earthly happiness,
I would become attached to it with all the energy, all
the power of my heart’s affection, and He refuses me
this ray. ... He prefers to leave me in darkness
rather than give me a false light which would not be His.

“I do not wish creatures to possess a single atom of
my love; I want to give all to Jesus, since He has made
me understand that He alone is true happiness. Every-
thing shall be for Him, everything. And even when
I shall have nothing to give Him, as this evening, I will
offer Him that nothing... .”!

“* Even one ray of happiness Jesus refuses me.”” W at,
then, was the great distress of soul which could diaw
this cry of grief-stricken resignation from the postulant ?
We know her secret privations. We realize the truth
of her words when she affirms her growing indifference
for the beauty of created things. But stronger and
sweeter ties still bound her to her loved ones. Jesus
was now preparing to cut to the quick, so that the be-
trothal of Thérése, sealed in the blood of her sacrifice,
would be for ever indissoluble.

It will be remembered that, snortly before the de-
parture of his youngest daughter for the Carmel, M.
Martin had suffered his first attack of paralysis. He
recovered almost completely, and it was in the spirit of
joyous thankfulness that he had offered his child to God.
He wrote at that time to one of his friends: ‘‘ Thérése,
my little Queen, entered Carmel yesterday. God alone
can claim such a sacrifice, but He helps me so powerfully
that, in the midst of my tears, my heart abounds with joy.”

How admirable were these dispositions, dispositions
which were to carry him to the heights of heroism. One
day he came to the Carmel and said to his three daughters:

1 Letter published at the end of the Histoire d’une Ame, p. 342.
13

194. ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

‘‘ My children, I have just returned from Alengon, where
I received, in the church of Notre-Dame, such wonder-
ful graces and consolation that I made this prayer: ‘ My
God, it is too much; yes, I am too happy. It is not
possible to get to heaven in this manner; [ want to suffer
something for Thee .. .’ And I offered myself . . .”
The tender father did not dare to finish the sentence,
but they understood. He had offered himself as a victim.

Shortly afterwards, a second attack of paralysis seemed
to indicate that the holocaust had been accepted.

In spite of all, the feast of Thérése’s reception was an
occasion of joy and happiness for the whole family, more
especially for M. Martin.

Thérése for the last time crossed the threshold of the
cloister, arrayed in her bridal robes. To honour the
King of Heaven to whom his “little Queen ”’ was about
to be publicly betrothed, M. Martin wished that she
should wear a dress of white velvet, bordered with swans-
down and enriched with point d’Alencon. Her long
fair hair fell over her shoulders in natural curls, and pure
white lilies were her only ornament.

“Papa was waiting for me,” she writes, ‘‘ at the
enclosure door. Advancing towards me, while his eyes
filled with tears, he pressed me to his heart, saying:
‘Ah, here is my little Queen.’ Then he gave me his
arm, and we made our solemn entrance into the chapel.
This day was his triumph, his last feast on earth. All
his offerings were made; his children belonged to God.
Céline having confided to him that, later on, she too
would abandon the world for Carmel, this exemplary
father had replied in a transport of joy: ‘ Let us go
together before the Blessed Sacrament to thank the
Saviour for the graces that He showers on our family,
and the honour He has done me in choosing spouses
from my house. Yes, the good God greatly honours me
in claiming my children, If I possessed anything better,

THE CARMEL OF LISIEUX 195

I would hasten to offer it to Him.’ This better thing
was himself. . . .””!

We shall see under what form God desired the holo-
caust. Meanwhile, the heavenly Spouse was pleased,
on the morning of the nuptial feast, to respond with
Divine solicitude to a desire of His new fiancée. Snow
had a particular attraction for Thérése. ‘‘ The first time
her infant eyes beheld the earth, snow was its raiment,”
and she wanted to see it on the day of her reception
clothed, like herself, in white. But the extreme mildness
of the temperature seemed to show clearly that her hope
was not to be realized.

However, the ceremony in the church being concluded,
the nuns welcomed the newly received novice at the
enclosure door, and led her in procession to the choir.

“The moment I entered the cloister,” says Thérése,
“my eyes instinctively turned to my dear little Jesus,”
who was smiling on me amidst flowers and lights. Then
turning towards the quadrangle, I saw it all covered with
snow. What tenderness on the part of Jesus! Fulfilling
the desires of His little fiancée, He gave her the snow.
What human being, however powerful, could make a
single snowflake fall from heaven to charm his beloved ??”

This desire of Thérése was known in the community
and elsewhere. The unexpected appearance of the snow
was hailed as a symbol of the virginal soul who was giving
herself to God, and everyone who knew about it spoke
of the “little miracle” which had signalized Scur
Thérése’s reception.

The hour had come, however, for the great trial which
was to plunge Thérése and her family in long and bitter
sorrow.

1 Histoire d’une Ame, ch. vii, p. 124.

2 A statue of the Child Jesus which stood then, as now, in
the cloister, and of which Seeur Thérése had the charge.

3 Histoire d’une Ame, ch. vii, p. 124.

196 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

M. Martin’s second attack of paralysis had given cause
to fear some brain trouble. The third, which came a
month after her reception, realized their gravest fears.
The young novice who, at the time of the previous
threatenings of trouble, had said to Mére Marie des
Anges, ‘‘I suffer much, but I can still suffer more,”
wrote after this terrible attack, ‘“ Ah, I did not say then
that I could suffer more. Words could not express
our agony; I shall not try to describe it. . . .”

That keen intellect darkened, that tender affection
wrecked, perhaps irremediably—was not this the end of
all human happiness for M. Martin’s daughters ?

The hand of God was visible here. He demanded from
this family heartrending sacrifices in order that, every
earthly tie being broken, nothing might stay these souls
in their flight towards the heights of perfection.

On February 12, 1889, M. Martin left Lisieux to
receive special treatment in a Home chosen by his family.
He remained there three years.

The daughters of this great Christian, this voluntary
victim, were to climb with him his steep and rugged
path of suffering. Undoubtedly, for the three Carmelites
as well as for the two young girls now alone in the world,
the blow had penetrated to the very heart’s core. But
Thérése and her sisters repeated, in heroic submission,
these words of the poet, worshipping, even in their bitter
moment of grief, the Divine good pleasure.

*‘ T come to Thee, my Saviour, by faith in Thee inspired;
I bring Thee pacified
The fragments of this heart by Thine own might all fired
Which ‘Thou hast severed wide.’’!

The thought of giving pleasure to Jesus by suffering
for love of Him, the ever-growing sense of detachment
which became more and more easy according as the
Divine Hand severed the final bonds, the remembrance

1 Victor Hugo, A. Villequier.

THE CARMEL OF LISIEUX 197

_ of a victim’s sacrifice so visibly accepted, the almost
sensible vision of God who came to purify, to strengthen,
to inflame—all this brought to the five sisters, weighed
down as they were by severest tribulation, a wealth of
supernatural joy, so much so, that Thérése did not
hesitate to write: “‘ The three years of my father’s martyr-
dom seem to me the dearest and most fruitful of our life;
I would not exchange them for the most sublime ecstasies.”’

Recalling later the thoughts which at this time she
had exchanged with Céline, the ‘“‘ little sister of her
soul,” Thérése added:

“As formerly at Les Buissonnets, we lifted not alone
our eyes but also our hearts beyond space and time, and,
in order quickly to enjoy eternal happiness, we chose
suffering and contempt here below.”! We have here
the echo of her conversations in the parlour. ‘The letters
of the novice to her dear Céline reveal the same sublime
choice.

““We have now nothing further to hope for on this
earth; the fresh mornings are gone,’ naught is left to us
but suffering. Oh, what an enviable lot! The Sera-
phim in Heaven are jealous of our happiness.’’*

And again: ‘‘ Céline, far from making any complaint to
Our Saviour of the cross He has sent us, I cannot compre-
hend the infinite love that has urged Him to deal thus
with us. Our father must be greatly loved by God,
since he has so much to suffer. What a delight to share
in his humiliation !’’!

To be deprived of those dearest to us, how hard soever
it may be, is less painful for a fervent soul than apparent
abandonment by her heavenly Spouse. In order to
complete the work of detachment, Jesus veiled Himself
more and more from the eyes of the novice, and by this

1 Histoire d’une Ame, ch. vii, p. 126.
2 St John of the Cross.

3 Letter of January, 1889.

4 Letter of February 28, 1889.

198 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

abandonment her suffering was greatly increased. But,
at the same time, she experienced the sweetest spiritual
joy in showing her Divine Master that she loved Him for
His own sake, not for any sensible favours that He grants
or withholds at will.

«I found no consolation,” she avows, “ either from
heaven or from earth; and, nevertheless, amidst these
waters of tribulation, for which I had so longed and prayed,
I was the happiest of creatures.” *

In this state of mingled grief and consolation was passed
the first part of the novitiate before her vows.

Her recent trials had made her more than ever capable
of healing the wounds of others. If a postulant was
suffering under some heavy trial, she was sent to Sceur
Thérése to receive words of consolation. Moreover,
even before her profession she was given the charge
of encouraging and stimulating the efforts of one of her
companions, a further proof of the secret esteem which
Mére Marie de Gonzague, in spite of her severity, had
for Thérése’s discernment and piety.

>

Once more, however, Thérése was to experience con-
tradiction in regard to her most cherished desires. At
the end of her year’s novitiate, she was not called to
make her vows; the still inflexible ecclesiastical superior
opposed it. Far from murmuring, the saintly child
attributed the imposed delay to her insufficient merit,
and addressed to her heavenly Fiancé this touching
prayer: ‘‘ I no longer ask [hee to let me make my pro-
fession; I shall wait as long as may please Thee; but I.
must not allow my union with Thee to be delayed by
any fault of mine, so will devote all my care to preparing
for myself a robe enriched with diamonds and every
precious stone. When Thou dost find it rich enough,
{ am sure that nothing will prevent Thee from taking me
as ‘Thy spouse.””?

1 Histoire d’une Ame, ch. vii, p. 127. 2 Thid.

THE CARMEL OF LISIEUX 199

_ And she redoubled her ardour in the practice of religious
perfection. She had as companion in the novitiate a
young lay-sister of rather difficult character. Instead of
avoiding this sister, Thérése chose her company by
preference, and, by dint of kindness, obtained over her
a considerable influence for good.

But nothing could equal her tender charity towards
another lay-sister, old Sceur Saint-Pierre, of a disposition
which infirmity had rendered very exacting, and whom
it was necessary to lead each evening to the refectory,
with numberless precautions in order not to irritate her.
Scur Thérése had hesitated about volunteering for this
office on account of the difficulty of pleasing the poor
invalid. Her generous heart carried the day, and she
succeeded, though not easily, in getting her services
accepted. Each evening, towards the end of prayer,
when the aged Sister shook her hour-glass, Thérése
knew that this meant, ‘‘ Let us go now.”

““ Summoning all my courage,” she says, “ I rose, and
quite a ceremony commenced. Her seat had to be
removed and carried im a certain way, and above all
there was to be no hurry. Then we set out. One had
to follow the good sister, supporting her by her girdle.
I tried to do this as gently as I could, but if unfortunately
she chanced to stumble, it seemed to her that I was
holding her badly and that she was going to fall. ‘ You
go too fast, I shall break my bones,’ she would say; and
if I then tried to lead her more slowly, ‘ Now you are not
following me; I do not feel your hand; you are loosening
your hold; I shall fall... . Ah, I was right in saying
that you were too young to take care of me.’

“ At last, without further mishap, we arrived at the
refectory. There other troubles arose. My poor invalid
had to be very skilfully helped into her place, in order
not to hurt her; after that her sleeves had to be turned
up, always in a certain way. I was then free to go. But
I soon noticed that she had much difficulty in cutting

200 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

her bread, so I never left her without rendering that final
service. As she had not asked me to do it, this attention
greatly touched her. It was by this means, unsought,
that I quite won her confidence, and especially—as I
learned later—that after all my little services I gave her
my sweetest smile,””*

From that time onward, the invalid never ceased to extol
Thérése’s charity. Thus it was that the young Sister,
even before her profession, endeavoured to be an angel
of peace and good-will in the convent that had opened
its gates to her.

The ‘‘ bejewelled robe ” was gradually enriched. It
shone with the rarest gems of charity and patience. It
now remained to add those of religious poverty and
humility. Before giving in detail the outstanding actions
which mark the rapid progress of Thérése in these two
virtues, let us here dwell for a moment on the first
victories gained in Carmel over her natural tendencies.?

Thérése Martin had brought to the convent, together
with her delicately refined nature, an inborn love for the
beautiful and a strong predilection for order. As a
postulant it gave her pleasure to have for her use things
that were nice, and to find at her hand whatever was
required for her work. ‘‘ Jesus,” she says, ‘‘ suffered
this patiently, for He does not wish to disclose all to the
soul at once; He ordinarily gives His light little by little.”
This light became more and more vivid during the course
of the novitiate. Her Divine Master also provided her
with numerous occasions of practising the virtues He
demanded.

One evening, Thérése searched in vain for her little
lamp on the shelf where it was usually kept. Evidently,

1 Histoire d’une Ame, ch. x, p. 193.

2 We shall give later in a special chapter the principal
manifestations of these virtues which for Thérése formed part
of the “ Little Way of Spiritual Childhood.”

THE CARMEL OF LISIEUX 201

some Sister had taken it in mistake for her own. But
it was after Compline; the Great Silence had commenced :
how was the mistake to be righted ? On the other hand,
must she pass a whole hour in darkness, when she had
counted on doing much work that very evening? The
Holy Spirit reminded her that true poverty consists in
the voluntary privation, not only of things that are pleasing,
but also of things necessary. ‘‘ And,” she concludes,
“amid the exterior darkness, my soul was filled with
Divine light.” She was still more imbued with this
doctrine when, by order no doubt of the Mother Prioress,
a large jug, much damaged, was substituted for the one
she had till then been using. Far from any thought of
complaint, she joyously accepted this new and unsightly
object. Aided from above, she had arrived at the
state of preferring the ugliest and least serviceable
utensils.

The observance of another point of the Carmelite
rule already mentioned was more difficult. ‘‘ Amongst
all the virtuous practices enjoined by our holy Constitu-
tion,” we read in a collection of the Statutes of the Order,
“that of never excusing oneself is one of the most
important in order to advance in the practice of
humility.’’4

We shall see with what admirable generosity she over-
came her repugnance and seized the first opportunity
for .self-renunciation on this point. A little vase left
behind a window had been broken. The novice-mistress,
believing Thérése accountable for not having put it in
its proper place, spoke severely to her, and reproached
her with failing altogether on the point of order. ‘The
novice was in no way responsible for the accident; with
one word she could have cleared herself, but without
saying anything she kissed the ground, and promised to
be more careful in future.

1 Regulations or Points of Observance taken from those which
the first Spanish Nuns had introduced into France, p. 35.

202 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

Acts of humility like this were to go on increasing in
number during the whole course of her religious life.
The nuptial garment had now acquired enough bril-
liancy to charm the Divine Spouse. After eight long
months added to the usua! term of the novitiate, Thérése
de l’Enfant Jésus was admitted to profession.

CHAPTER VIII

PROFESSION—APPARENT SEVERITY OF GOD, AND THE DIS-
INTERESTED LOVE OF HIS SERVANT—GRACIOUS GIFT
OF JESUS TO THERESE—POETRY OF THE YOUNG CAR-
MELITE—CORRESPONDENCE ON SPIRITUAL MATTERS—
CELINE’S ENTRANCE

N September 8, 1890, Thérése was to bind herself
() for ever by the vows of religion. The Almighty

still kept her in that darkness, as of night, well
known to those whom He invites to climb the heights of the
mountain of love, and she herself affirms that her retreat
for profession was, like its successors, “‘ a retreat of great
aridity.”’ But this absence of consolation was to make
still more perfect the gift of self, and never perhaps did
she love her Divine Master more whole-heartedly than
in this path of darkness that He had chosen for her. She
has described by means of striking imagery the cold and
cloudy atmosphere in which she was condemned to live,
an atmosphere which, far from extinguishing, seemed to
foster and strengthen the fire of love in her heart.

We refer to the letter addressed to Mére Agnés de Jésus
a few days before her profession. In no other place is
portrayed more clearly the delicate purity of the disposi-
tions which she brought to her Well-Beloved. ‘“‘ Before
setting out,” she says, “‘ my Betrothed asked me through
what country I wished to journey, what route I desired
to follow. I replied that I had but one desire—to reach
the summit of the mountain of Love. . .

“ Then Our Saviour took me by the hand, and led me
into a subterranean way, where it is neither hot nor cold,
where the sun never shines, into which neither rain nor

203

204. ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

wind find entrance, a tunnel, where I see nothing but a
half-veiled light, the brightness radiating from the down-
cast eyes of the Face of Jesus.

‘My Betrothed utters no word, nor do I, save only
to assure Him that I love Him more than myself, and I feel
in my heart that this is true, for | am more His than my
own.

“IT could not see that we were advancing, since our
way lies underground; and yet it seems to me, without
knowing how, that we are approaching the mountain-top.

“ Tam grateful to Jesus for making me walk in darkness ;
I am in profound peace; willingly I consent to remain
during the whole of my religious life in this sombre
tunnel which He has made me enter; I desire only that
my darkness may obtain light for sinners.

‘““T am happy, yes, truly happy in having no consola-
tion; I should feel ashamed if my love resembled that of
earthly fiancées who look for presents from the hands of
their betrothed, or eagerly watch his face for the loving
smile that delights them.

“ Thérése, the little fiancée of Jesus, loves Jesus for
His own sake; she wishes to look upon the face of her
Well-Beloved only that she may catch sight of the tears
that delight her with their hidden charm. She wants
to dry those tears; she would fain gather them as priceless
diamonds to enrich her nuptial robe.

“Jesus ! How I wish to love Him, to love Him more
than He has ever yet been loved. . . .

“ IT wish, at all costs, to win the palm of St Agnes. If
this cannot be by blood, it must be gained by love. . . .””

Thérése had, as we know, charge of decorating the
statue of the Child Jesus which stands in the cloister
near one of the entrances. On the evening before her
profession, she placed around the Divine Infant the same
waxen tapers as on the day of her reception. And when

1, Appendix to the Histoire d’une Ame—Letters, p. 344.

PROFESSION 205

Sceur Marie du Sacré-Cceur expressed astonishment that
she should reject the beautiful rose-tinted candles pre-
pared for the great day, she received from Thérése this
note which gives touching expression to her faithful
remembrance of family joys and to her lively faith:
“The others (candles) speak to me of the past. They
commenced to burn on the day of my reception; they were
fresh and rosy then; papa who had given them to me was
there, and all was joyous. But now their rosy hue is
gone. ... Are there still any rose-coloured joys here
below for your little Thérése ? Oh no, there remain for
her now but the joys of Heaven; joys where the created,
which is nothingness, gives place to the uncreated, which
is reality.”

With soul unburdened by this magnificent detachment,
Thérése de |’Enfant Jésus saw the morning of the great
day dawn. Nature was in festal array to celebrate the
mystic nuptials. A radiant sun shone from a cloudless
sky on the procession which accompanied her to the
marriage-feast of the Lamb. As the community went in
procession to the chapter-room where the novice was to
make her vows, a veritable cloud of swallows passed
rapidly over the monastery, almost touching the walls
in their flight, seeming to portray by their swift and un-
hindered soaring the eager flight of the bride to her
Spouse.

During the ceremony an opportunity presented itself
for a particularly meritorious act of abandonment. ‘The
Prioress, Mére Marie de Gonzague, had counselled
Thérése to ask God, when prostrate during her act
of self-immolation, to grant her father’s cure. She
contented herself with saying, ‘‘ My God, grant that papa
may recover if it be truly Thy Holy Will, since our
Mother has told me to ask this.’’ Thus did she unite
submission to the Divine Will, filial love and holy
obedience.

1 Letters, p. 352

206 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

Another interest which she deemed of higher import-
ance than even her father’s health because it was of the
spiritual order, was, during these precious moments, the
object of a less conditional petition to Jesus in return for
her holocaust. She was anxious about the future of her
sister Léonie, whose poor health had, so far, defeated her
hopes of the religious life. ‘Thérése had the courage to
address this prayer to her Divine Master: ‘‘ As regards
Léonie, grant that by Thy will she may become a Visita-
tion nun, and, if she has not the vocation, I pray Thee to
bestow it on her; Thou canst not refuse me this.”

Many others too were included in her supplications
on the day of her profession, Her heart expanded so
as to include the whole world. ‘I did not forget any-
one,” she says ; ‘‘ I desired that every sinner on earth might
that day be converted, that purgatory might no longer
hold a single captive.”

For herself she made the following petitions: ‘‘ O Jesus,
my Divine Spouse, grant that my Baptismal robe may
never be stained. ‘Take me to Thyself rather than allow
me to sully my soul here below by the smallest voluntary
fault. May I never seek or find but Thee alone. May
creatures be ever as nothing to me and I as nothing to
them. May my peace never be disturbed by earthly
things. O Jesus, lask only peace. . . . Peace and above
all Love, unbounded, illimitable Love. Jesus, may I
die a martyr’s death for Thee. Grant me martyrdom of
heart or of body. . . .. Ah, rather, give me both. Grant
that I may fulfil my promises perfectly, that I may count
for nothing here below; may I be unnoticed and trampled
under foot like a little grain of sand. I offer myself to
Thee, my Well-Beloved, in order that Thou mayest
accomplish perfectly Thy holy Will in me unhindered
by any created obstacle.’

An interior trial, on the eve, had shown that the Master
accepted her offering. After Matins, during the hour

1 Histoire d’une Ame, ch. viii, p. 134.

PROFESSION 207

of prayer which preceded the dawn of the great day,!
her vocation to Carmel appeared suddenly to Thérése
as a dream, an illusion which it was time to renounce.
By a final artifice, the father of lies endeavoured to per-
suade her that she was not called to the religious life and
should return to the world. ‘Terrified, and enveloped as
she was in dense darkness, the poor child conceived the
happy idea of confiding this temptation without delay
to her novice-mistress, whom she therefore asked to
come with her out of the choir. Hearing the account of
her illusion, Mére Marie des Anges laughed heartily
and completely reassured Thérése. The demon was
conquered. Therése felt this immediately by the light
which entered her soul.

Nor did the Divine Master refuse his faithful spouse
the peace given to those who serve God even without
sensible joy and consolation. “‘On the morning of
September 8,” she says, ‘a river of peace inundated
my soul,” and in that peace, ‘ which surpasseth all under-
standing,’ I made my holy vows.’ And she adds:
* At the end of that happy day, it was without sadness
that I laid my crown of roses, according to custom, at the
feet of the Blessed Virgin; I felt that time would never
take from me my joy... .””

But her crucified Spouse was to hearken fully to the
remaining petitions of her heroic prayer. Martyrdom
of heart, so ardently desired, was granted to her while
awaiting the other.

The great act of profession is completed at Carmel by
the symbolical ceremony of taking the veil. The date
fixed for Thérése was September 24. A slight improve-

1 This Vigil, customary in Carmel on the eve of profession,
is continued till midnight, the sisters surrounding the bride
elect.

2 Ts. Ixvi 12. 8 Philip. iv 7.

4 Histoire d’une Ame, ch. viii, p. 134.

208 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

ment had given reason to hope that her beloved father
would assist at the coming feast, and the thought of his
dear presence brought her great joy. But, at the last
moment, those in charge feared that the aged man’s
malady would be increased by strong emotion, and M.
Martin did not come.

The generous-hearted child, so brave ever in adversity,
could not now restrain her grief; she shed torrents of
tears. To add to her disappointment, those around her
expressed astonishment at her apparent weakness, and
she was forced to make this painful admission: ““ My
tears were not understood.” But her valiant soul soon
mastered its emotion, and she wrote to Céline: “ Every-
thing was ready for the nuptial feast. Yet do you not
think that something was lacking? Jesus had, it is
true, already put many jewels in my casket, but one of
incomparable beauty was undoubtedly wanting. This
precious diamond Jesus has given me today; papa will
not be here tomorrow. Céline, I own that my tears
flowed fast; they are falling now while I write; I can
hardly hold my pen. You know how ardently I longed
to see our beloved father again. Now I realize that it
is God’s will he should not be present at my feast. He
has permitted this solely to test our love. Jesus wants
me to be an orphan; He wills that I be alone with Him
alone, in order that He may unite Himself more closely
to me. He will also repay me in Heaven the innocent
joys He has denied me in exile.

“'Today’s trial is a sorrow difficult to understand. A
joy had been offered to us which was quite possible and
natural. We stretched out our hands . . . and could
not grasp the longed-for consolation. But this is the
work of no human hand, it is Jesus. Céline, understand
your Thérése. Let us both accept willingly this thorn
presented to us. ‘Tomorrow’s feast will be for us a feast
of tears, but I feel that Jesus will be so consoled. . . .’

1 Letters, p. 325.

PROFESSION 209

Everything, in fact, combined to make Thérése’s veiling
a feast of tears. Mgr Hugonin, who had been counted
upon to preside, did not come; several other incidents
filled the day with bitterness and grief. The peace of God
was ever, it is true, at the bottom of her chalice, and this
thrice happy peace enabled the young religious to console
Céline, grief-stricken too by their father’s continued
illness. Nothing could be more impressive than her
words of comfort: ‘‘ I understand all that you suffer;
I understand your anguish for I share your grief. Ah,
_if I could but impart to you the peace that Jesus has
infused into my soul even amidst bitter tears. Be con-
soled! All things pass away, our former life is gone;
death too will pass, and then we shall enjoy life, true
life for endless ages, for ever and ever.’’

This appeal to the eternal recompense did not always
assuage her sister’s sorrow. When by her tender words
of comfort in the parlour, Thérése found herself unable
to bring calm to the grief-rent heart, the fervent Carmelite
would beseech the Divine Master Himself to console her
sister, to shed light on the truths necessary for her soul’s
peace. She then remained calm and confident, per-
suaded that God had heard her prayer. It was even
so, for at the next meeting she always found Céline
serenely peaceful, with soul enlightened, inundated with
joy which even she herself could not account for.

Thus began that religious apostolate which, after a
few years’ exercise on earth, was to perpetuate in heaven
the good begun here below. Its influence was to extend
far beyond the family circle.

During the canonical examination which preceded
her profession, Thérése Martin was asked to state the
motives that had drawn her to the cloister. “I have
come to Carmel,” she said, ‘‘ to save souls, and more

especially to pray for priests.”

; 1 Letters, p. 324.
14

210 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

This spiritual charity towards priests dated chiefly,
as we know, from her pilgrimage to Italy; its activity
increased according as the young nun realized more
and more fully the greatness of the priesthood. She
desired, as she said, to help in preserving the salt of
the earth, by becoming in all humility an apostle of
apostles, and in securing for them the grace of fruitful
ministry in word and example. At times, carried away
by her dream of love, she would fain be herself a priest
in order to preach the Gospel to the most abandoned
nations, and, as she has said, to die a martyr for Jesus
Christ.

This all-conquering ardour was soon to associate her,
by means of prayer and sacrifice, in the work of two young
missionaries who shall appear later in these pages.

At the moment, the unhappy state of one particular
priest claimed all her compassion and assistance. She
had heard of the celebrated Pére Hyacinthe of the Car-
melite Order, of his widely known defection from the
Church, and of the errors to which he persistently ad-
hered. She resolved to bring back this erring soul to
God by prayer and sacrifice. She was destined to
labour for his conversion till the very end of her life,
offering even her last Communion for the unfortunate
apostate. Events did not appear to justify her hope, for
Hyacinthe Loyson died without at least public reconcilia-
tion with the Church. But the immediate witnesses of the
end, which was terrifying to behold, said that at the last
moment the dying man touched with his lips a cross
which he continually carried, and expired. with the
words “‘O my sweet Jesus!” on his lips. Was not this
a sign of long-delayed return to that God whom he had
denied? Did not this last invocation express an act
of repentance obtained by the unknown religious who had
sacrificed herself for him ?

The vocation to sacrifice which Thérése had always

1 Cf. Summarium of 1919, p. 549 (1517).

PROFESSION 211

distinctly felt since she had abandoned herself to Divine
love, became more definite from the time she entered
Carmel. Without doubt, the name Thérése de l’En-
fant Jésus which had been given her from the age of nine
when she manifested her desire of becoming a Carmelite,
corresponded now more than ever to a reality,' for her
devotion to the Divine Child ever increased.2 But, as
she loved to contemplate in its entirety the Sacred

1 The Sovereign Pontiff, Benedict XV, has thrown full light
on the fitness of the title Thérése bore in religion. ‘‘ By Divine
ordinance,” he says, ‘‘ she was placed under the patronage of
the Child Jesus who was pleased to recognize in this manner
the solicitude she had already shown to honour the virtues of
His childhood. But may we not say also that this title was for
the fervent Carmelite a stimulus to entire abandonment to her
Saviour? ‘The Infant of Bethlehem revealed Himself to her
as He lay in the arms of His Mother, docile and willing to allow
Himself to be carried from Bethlehem to Egypt and from Egypt
to Nazareth. 'Thérése, in her turn, placed herself in the arms
of the holy Carmelite rule, allowing herself to be guided in
everything by religious obedience. ‘The Divine Worker of
Nazareth showed Himself always occupied with the work which
His adopted father gave Him to do, always submissive to
commands vested for Him with the authority of His Heavenly
Father. Following His example, Thérése carried out with
eagerness every command of the Prioress and the novice-
mistress. She did all this in the most perfect manner without
complaint or remark of any sort, having no longer, as it would
seem, any will of her own. ‘This perfect imitation of the
virtues of the Saviour’s childhood was so striking in the young
Carmelite, that, if the name of ‘‘ the Child Jesus ”’ had not been
providentially given her, the companions of her religious life
would have bestowed it upon her.” Discourse of His Holiness
Pope Benedict XV, on the occasion of the Decree regarding heroicity
of virtues, August 14, 1921.

2 She often repeated the following prayer composed by
herself: ‘“‘ O little Infant Jesus, my only treasure, I abandon
myself to Thy Divine good pleasure. I desire no other joy than
that of making Thee smile. Infuse into my soul Thy grace and
the virtues of Thy childhood so that, on the day of my birth in
heaven, the angels and saints may recognize me as Thy little
spouse, Thérése de l’Enfant Jésus.” Summarium of 1919, p-. 338,
871.

212 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

Humanity, she could not separate the mysteries of the
Crib from the Cross of Calvary. This it was which made
her receive with joyous eagerness the favour of adding
to her name in religion the title ‘‘ of the Holy Face.”

If her love for the Child Jesus led her to surrender
herself into His hands as a plaything in the hands of an
infant, she saw in the Holy Face the symbol of every
humiliation endured by the Saviour, and she drew from
such contemplation the ever-constant wish to suffer and
to be humiliated for His sake. The sight alone of that
Divine Face bruised and bleeding moved her to inexpress-
ible tenderness. Her sister, Mere Agnés de Jésus, one
day said to her as they stood before the traditional image
which is venerated at Tours: “ What a pity that the
eyes are lowered, that we cannot see His gaze.” “Oh
no,” Thérése replied, ‘‘ it is better so, for otherwise we
could not look on His Face without dying of love.”?
She always kept a picture of the Holy Face in her Bre-
viary, and she placed it near her in her stall during prayer;
she was to have it hung later on her bed-curtain during
her prolonged agony.*

Habitual contemplation of the Saviour’s tortured
features, and the very name she had adopted, were con-
tinual sources of encouragement to Thérése in her way of
redemption by suffering. The réle of victim, so joyously
undertaken in her very childhood, so courageously
fulfilled in the novitiate, was to grow more defined, to
take a fuller signification, until, by an authentic act, she
consecrated herself for ever in this quality to God’s
merciful Love.

The ardour of the young nun in the Master’s service
was stimulated at this time by a conversation, in itself
apparently indifferent, with one of her cousins in the

1 Summarium of 1919, p. 549, § 1521.

2 It was by her inspiration from beyond the tomb that her
sister Céline painted from the Holy Shroud of Turin the striking
picture of the Holy Face now known all the world over.

PROFESSION 213

parlour. Jeanne Guérin had married an _ excellent
Catholic, Dr. La Néele, eight days after Thérése received
the veil, and during her next visit at the Carmel she spoke
of the attentions that she lavished on her husband. The
newly-made spouse of the King of kings was stirred to
emulation by what she heard. “It shall not be said,”
she told herself, ‘‘ that a woman in the world will do more
for her husband, an ordinary mortal, than I for my well-
beloved Jesus.”” Then she resolved more firmly than
ever that she would offer her flowers of abnegation to the
heavenly Bridegroom to rejoice and console Him, while
she alone should feel their thorns.

The first mortification which she was destined to
undergo at this time was a renewal of the troubles of
mind endured in the course of her novitiate. Pére Pichon
was no longer there to encourage her secret aspirations
towards absolute confidence in God. She was suffering
from interior difficulties which she made the matter of
continual sacrifice, when a Recollet from the monastery

1 This incident gave her the idea of writing her version of
the invitation sent out for the recent marriage. ‘The following
lines are worthy of note as bringing home to novices the inferi-
ority of earthly unions compared to the honour of being the
spouse of Jesus.

“The Almighty God, Creator of heaven and earth, Sovereign
Ruler of the world, and the ever glorious Virgin Mary, Queen
of the celestial Court, desire to announce to you the spiritual
nuptials of their august Son, Jesus, King of kings and Lord of
lords, with little Thérése Martin, now Queen and Princess of
kingdoms given her as dowry by her Divine Spouse, namely
the Childhood of Jesus and His Passion, from which come her
noble titles ‘ Of the Child Jesus and of the Holy Face.’

**You could not be invited to the nuptial feast, which was
celebrated on Mount Carmel on the 8 September, 1890—the
Celestial Court alone being admitted—but you are requested
to be present at the home-coming, which will take place to-
morrow, the day of Eternity, when Jesus, the Son of God, will
come in the clouds of heaven in all the glory of His majesty to
judge the living and the dead.

“The hour being yet uncertain, you are invited to hold your-
selves in readiness, and to watch.” Histoire d’une Ame, p. 135-

214 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

of Caen, Pére Alexis, came to preach the Retreat of 1891.
This religious was widely known and appreciated through-
out the country for his apostolic work, but up to that time
his name had been more associated with the conversion
of working-men and servants than with spiritual success
in giving retreats to nuns. Thérése, who knew him by
reputation, feared that she would not be able to lay before
him her numerous difficulties which he, no doubt, would
consider scrupulous in the extreme. But, through the
hidden workings of the Holy Spirit, she was soon unde-
ceived and reassured. From the very first interview she
felt that she was understood, and confided unhesitatingly
in the worthy religious. The result was as remarkable
as it wasimmediate. ‘The Father,” she says, “‘ launched
me under full sail on the waters of confidence and love
which attracted me so powerfully, but on which I had not
had the courage to go forward. He told me that my
failings did not displease the good God. ‘I hold His
place at this moment,’ he added, ‘in your regard. Well
then, I assure you that He is well satisfied with your soul.’ ”

To say that the faults of even a Carmelite ‘‘ would not
displease God ”’ leaves room for misinterpretation. But
Thérése did not deceive herself. She recalled to mind
that a mother is ever ready to pardon the little failings of
her child, that she is not grieved by these slight faults
for she knows they are involuntary, and remembering
that Jesus is infinitely more tender than the best of mothers,
she was fully reassured on the state of her soul. The
heavenly Spouse found therein, it is true, nothing but
failings and frailties which are inseparable from human
nature. These would never separate Him from her.
What relief and joy in that thought . . . Such pacifying
assurance enabled her to face unwaveringly and even with
joy another series of trials.

The short sketch which we have given of the life at
Carmel shows that the mortifications and penances

PROFESSION 215

enjoined by rule are severe; but even in the most fervent
communities, it is not these austerities which cause the
greatest suffering to human nature.

““My greatest penance,” St Bernard has said, “‘ is
community life.” Who is there, in fact, who does not
know that diversity of character, difference in education,
the play of natural sympathies and natural antipathies
which we can counteract but which we are unable wholly
to suppress, form, for the most fervent religious, innumer-
able and continuous occasions of suffering? And if
this source of trial is to be found amongst religious who
have access to the world outside their community, what of
those who are cloistered, where a small number of persons,
always the same, live together and constantly meet one
another? Not only was Thérése de l’Enfant Jésus not
spared this mortification, but it was increased by two
choir sisters whose difficult characters made her early
days in the religious life harder still.

The Mother Prioress was not entirely unaware of the
sufferings which the young nun might experience from
this source, but, foreseeing, no doubt, the eminent virtue
to which Sceur Thérése would attain, she appeared
desirous of affording her occasions for merit. In this she
judged correctly of her daughter, for the generous Carmel-
ite always surpassed the expectations of those who seized
occasion to humiliate her. Not with the lips alone but
from her heart had she said to Jesus, ‘‘ May no one ever
give me a thought, may I be trodden under foot like
a little grain of sand.’

Now, more than ever, was this heroic desire to be ful-
filled to the letter. Not that ordinarily her Sisters had
the intention of making her suffer; rather was it by reason
of that instinctive tendency to accept the services and
overlook the privations of those who never complain.

Thus we find Thérése, ever ingenious regarding means
of self-sacrifice, offering her services in winter for such

1 Summarium of 1919, Pp. 409, § 1035.

216 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

portion of the washing as was to be done in the open air
with cold water, a task which cost her a great deal, and, in
summer, remaining by preference in the steaming hot
laundry, where she willingly received full in the face the
soapy water with which the Sister opposite frequently,
though inadvertently, splashed her. Thus it was also
that she expressed the desire to help in her duties one of
the two Sisters mentioned above whose gloomy disposition
made her a burden to the whole community.

These things mortified above all self-love and the
tendency of nature to seek bodily ease; others of a
different kind affected more directly her health. The
Carmelite fare, one may suppose, was frugal enough, but
the young nun found means of adding to the ordinary
privations. As she never complained, and left uncon-
tradicted the impression that she was of robust constitu-
tion, she was treated without any special regard for her
health by the Sisters in the kitchen who, for example,
simply passed on to her the indigestible food which others
were unable to take.

As regards clothing, the same spirit of mortification was
apparent. Not alone did Thérése seek to obtain the
poorest material, but her“ alpargates ”’ were nearly always
in a quite worn-out condition. These ‘‘ alpargates ”
are a kind of sandal, the soles are made of plaited hemp
sewn together, they are int hemselves fairly well calculated
to exercise the virtue of patience. What must they have
been when much worn and all out of shape ?

Treated with severity by the Mother Prioress, her
self-love humiliated, deprived of her sisters’ companion-
ship, except during the occasional visits in the parlour,
submitted to continual bodily mortification, and above
all a stranger now to spiritual consolation, was Thérése
then without comfort, was she without joy in the monas-
tery where she had hoped to find the place of her rest ?
Far from it, for the greater part of her suffering was
welcomed as the fulfilment of her own desires and wishes,

PROFESSION 217

and was accepted with eagerness for love of the Spouse
whose divine liberality thus satisfying her thirst for
inmolation, she recognized.in every trial. She walked
henceforth joyously in the “ little way of spiritual child-
hood ” which we shall describe later on, and which she
knew how to “ strew with flowers of little sacrifices ”
even to the end. Besides the fact that she never, even
in moments of deepest tribulation, lost that peace which,
on her own admission, “ surpasseth all understanding,”
she lived in the society of souls for the greater part most
fervent whose example and counsel were to her a per-
petual Sursum corda.

She was later to form a truly spiritual friendship with
certain of these, and she loved to record the last counsels
of such as, after a life of austerity, seemed on the eve of
receiving their crown. ‘Thus it was that through charity,
as well as for her own edification at the sight of a holy life
now drawing to its close, she visited in the infirmary the
venerable Foundress, Mére Genevieve de Sainte-Thérése.
One Sunday, the invalid noticing that Thérése was
discreetly retiring in favour of some older visitors, said
to her, “‘ Wait, my little one, I have just a word to say
to you. You are continually asking me for a spiritual
bouquet. To-day, then, I give you this: ‘ Serve God
in peace and joy ; remember, my child, that our God is the
God of Peace.’”

It so happened that, on that very day, Thérése was
suffering keenly under the weight of an interior desola-
tion. The words of the venerated Mother appeared as
a response from heaven to her anxious soul, and joy
exceeding great filled her heart as she came away. It
was one of those smiles given by the Well-Beloved in
return for her sacrifices. He continued to multiply His
marks of encouragement, without, however, suppressing
the trials.

When, some time later, Mére Geneviéve was in her
last agony, Scur Thérése for two hours watched with

218 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

the Community beside the death-bed. By a design of
Providence, she felt overpowered by a sort of insensibility
which distressed and saddened her. ‘“‘ But,’’ she says,
“at the moment of her birth in heaven, my interior
disposition changed completely. In an instant, I was
filled with joy and indescribable fervour as if the sanctified
soul of our holy Mother had at that moment given me
a share of the happiness she enjoyed, for I am convinced
that she went straight to heaven.”?

Out of tender respect, Thérése conceived the idea of
obtaining an almost imperceptible relic of the saintly
Carmelite. During her last agony a tear had glistened
in her eyelash and remained there even when she had
been laid in the Choir as is customary after death.
Scur Thérése took a little piece of fine linen, and approach-
ing stealthily in the evening, she carried away from the
death-cold face this impalpable relic of the deeply-
regretted Mother who had done her so much good. She
desired to surround the dear remains with every attention
even to the end, and being Sacristan at the time, she had
the privilege of arranging round the coffin the flowers
sent as tokens of veneration by the inhabitants of Lisieux.
This she was doing with filial care, when a lay-sister,
yielding for the moment to ill-humour, so far forgot herself
as to say, “‘ Ah, you know well how to put in the foremost
place the wreaths sent by your own family, while you
leave in the background the bouquets of the poor.”
Nothing could be less justified than this reproach.
Thérése, nevertheless, replied with infinite sweetness,
“‘T am thankful to you, Sister. You are right. Give me
the moss-covered cross sent by the workmen; I am going
to place it in front.’”

Thus did Jesus mingle wormwood in every cup for
the young religious, even in those that had held the
promise of a fleeting joy.

1 Histoire d’une Ame, ch. viii, p. 138.
* Summarium of 1919, Pp. 559, § 1544.

PROFESSION 219

_ This admirable fortitude in the face of disappointments
was equalled by courage in act. Employed, since her
entrance, in the humblest, and at times the most fatiguing

_ tasks, such as sweeping the stairs, refectory and other
community rooms, she never shirked the burden of
labour.!

In the beginning of 1891 she was assigned as assistant

. to the Sister sacristan, having care of the vestments,

-and preparing the sacred vessels for the Holy Sacrifice.
No duty could be more in harmony with her devotion
to the Eucharist. Before placing the particles destined
to become the Body of Christ in the Ciborium, she loved
to see her own reflection at the bottom of the golden
vessel where the Holy of Holies was soon to repose.
When, one morning, after Mass, she discovered a tiny
particle of the Sacred Host on the paten, she called a few
of her companions, who she knew would be pleased, and

1 On July 13, 1897, Seur Thérése de |’Enfant Jésus, then
an invalid in the infirmary, stated exactly to Mére Agnés de
Jésus the different offices she had fulfilled.

*“On my entrance,”’ she said, ‘‘ I was put in the linen-room
with Mother Sub-Prioress (Sceur Marie des Anges). I had
also a staircase and dormitory to sweep. It was at this period
that I went every evening at half-past four to weed the garden,
a thing which displeased our Mother.

““ After my reception, I was sent to the refectory until I was
eighteen. I had charge of the sweeping, and of putting the
water.and beer on the tables. After the Forty Hours celebration,
in 1891, I was assigned to the Sacristy. From the end of June
in the following year, I was for two months without any office.
It was during this time that I painted the fresco around the
tabernacle in the oratory, and was third in the portress’ office.
At the end of those two months, I was appointed portress, and
still to continue painting. In these two duties I was employed
until the elections of 1896, after which I returned to the Sacristy.
During this latter period, I fell ill, and it was then that I asked
to be allowed to help Sister X with the mending.”

Although she omits to mention it, the Saint had also, when
refectorian, the duty of distributing the bread to the com-

"munity.

220 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

adored with them the Sacred Species with the deepest
reverence, carefully leaving the Particle on the paten
for the priest himself to remove.

But she was destined to be taken from her daily duties
by a terrible calamity. The infectious and serious illness
known as “ da grippe,” or influenza, which, during the
last thirty years, has so many times decimated the world,
made its first appearance, as we know, in France about
the year 1890. This visitation of the dread malady was
particularly virulent and proved fatal in numerous cases.

In the last days of 1891, the epidemic broke out in the
Carmel of Lisieux. All the Sisters were attacked except
two who entirely escaped contagion, and Seur Thérése
de l’Enfant Jésus who was only slightly affected. Nothing
could be more pitiful than the condition of the com-
munity during this awful visitation. The more seriously
stricken were nursed by others who were scarcely able to
drag themselves along. Death hovered over the monas-
tery, and when a sister had succumbed, she had to be
abandoned immediately in order to attend to those most
in danger. In this house of sickness Thérése, who was
then scarcely nineteen and herself attacked by the malady,
gave proof of remarkable resource and unbounded devoted-
ness. ‘Though unaided in the Sacristy to prepare for the
funeral ceremonies which took place three times within
a few days, yet she so managed as to give also the help
needed by the sick.

One morning she had a presentiment that one of the
Sisters was dead. She hastened to the cell through the
darkness, and found her already clothed and extended on
the bed, motionless in death.1 ‘‘I was not in the least
afraid,” she declares, ‘‘ and running to the Sacristy, I
quickly brought a blessed candle, and placed on her
head a crown of roses. Amidst all these trials, I felt the
Hand of the good God; and that His Heart was keeping

1 She had been hastily laid out by the few sisters who were
still able to attend the sick.

PROFESSION 221

watch over us. Without effort our dear Sisters passed
to a better life; on their faces there was an expression of
celestial joy; they seemed to rest in a sweet sleep.’

Meanwhile, the inexorable Superior of the community,
M. Delatroétte, came to visit his daughters in their trial.
He saw the lately professed nun at her work, she whose
entrance he had signalized with such disquieting pro-
- phecy. Obliged to recognize her mature formation and
_ rare virtue, he rid himself of all prejudice, and afterwards,
with tears in his eyes, spoke in terms of admiration of her
whom he had at first so little understood.

About this time, the saint’s self-denial was to be rewarded
by a sweet and intense happiness. The Abbé Youf, who
was well aware of her great longing to communicate
frequently, felt grieved at not being able to allow her to
approach the Holy Table daily. But, on this point,
Meére Marie de Gonzague, insisting on the rights which
tradition in French convents gave to superiors, proved
inflexible. Nevertheless, on the occasion of the un-
avoidable disorder caused by the epidemic, the confessor
took it upon himself to allow the fervent child the spiritual
support of daily communion. The privilege lasted for
some months after the influenza had disappeared. “ Ah,
how sweet it was,” writes Thérése, “ ...I had not
sought this exception, but I was happy indeed to be
united each day to my Well-Beloved.”

This was in truth the most Divine of those joys which
uplifted the heart of the young nun, making her forget
many sorrows. But it must also be remembered that
Thérése was never egoistic in seeking heavenly consola-
tion. On her own testimony, she desired her Saviour’s
visits not for her personal satisfaction, but solely “ for
the pleasure given to Him.” Hence her communions
were most fervent, but usually brought her very little
sensible consolation.

Immediately on receiving the Sacred Host, she invited,

1 Histoire d’une Ame, ch. viii, p. 140.

222 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

as she so simply tells us, all the angels and saints to come
and chant in her heart, and with her, canticles of love. It
seemed to her that Jesus would then be pleased at seeing
Himself so magnificently received, and she shared in the
joy of the Divine Guest, no matter how great might be
her own aridity and spiritual darkness.

For Sceur Thérése, the first stages of the religious life
had been strewn with more thorns than roses. But
later, with purpose, no doubt, of encouraging her on the
steep path of sacrifice, the heavenly Spouse was pleased
to grant a number of her desires, and even childish long-
ings of which, with her happy familiarity, she had told
Him. The essentially artistic soul of the young nun had
always felt the attraction of beauty in its various forms,
and, even before making the trial, she felt convinced that
the esthetic realization of these beloved visions would
not be impossible to her. In truth, “all the Muses
dwelt within her,” silent as yet, but ready to burst forth
in song. She was ten years of age, when her father one
day told Céline that he was arranging about drawing-
lessons for her, and asked Thérése would she too like to
learn. She was just going to answer joyfully in the
affirmative when her sister, Marie, remarked that she had
not the same aptitude as Céline. M. Martin yielded to
her opinion, and the little one, realizing that this was
a good opportunity of offering a great sacrifice to Jesus,
remained silent. But, even after her entrance into Carmel,
she still wondered how she had the strength to refrain
from speaking on that occasion.

Seeing her sister Pauline, her “ little mother,” paint
charming miniatures and compose sweet verses, she
greatly desired to imitate her, even though she had no
previous training. The Divine Master, while recalling
to her mind the vanity of these human accomplishments,
and how powerless they were to bring her perfect joy or
even to express her boundless aspirations, deigned to

PROFESSION 223

give her that creative gift which constitutes the power
and charm of the artist.

Thus we find the young Carmelite executing at the
first attempt and almost without lessons, minute paintings
on church ornaments, or on little vellum leaflets for
circulation. Moreover, she undertook out of pure
obedience the decoration of an interior oratory where
the fresco from her brush still excites admiration by its
grace and delicacy of execution, and at the same time,
encourages devotion by the angelic expression of the
cherubim there represented.

But the nuns were still more surprised on reading the
first verses composed by Sceur Thérése de |’Enfant
Jésus at the demand of her superiors, poems inspired
by piety, deeply penetrated with thoughts from nature
or the poetry of the past. Often she composed hymns
of lofty poetic thought and expression destined to com-
memorate a profession, a clothing, or some other
Carmelite solemnity. The words were usually adapted
to an air already known, which was decided on before-
hand.

How did Thérése find time to compose these hymns
which from the first had power to charm the community ?
Who had taught her the science of prosody so as to
handle with perfect ease the most varied metres? No
leisure was ever specially given her for literary composition.
At the request of a superior or a companion, she mentally
grouped her thoughts together in sweet and flowing
verse while polishing a floor or arranging the chasubles
in a press,! and as she did not wish to take from the
time allotted to ordinary work, she had to wait until
evening to pen, in the silence of her cell, on some loose
slip of paper, the couplets which she had retained in

1 Her hymn “ Vivre d’Amour ” was an exception. It was
composed in its entirety at the one time, during her hour’s
adoration before the Blessed Sacrament. (See the Summarium

of 1919, p. 599, § 1732.)

224 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

her memory.' On Sundays alone did she find a little
more opportunity to compose her verses, during the
few hours left at a Carmelite’s own disposal. As to
rules of versification, she must undoubtedly have been
instructed by the Divine Artist Himself, for her sister,
Pauline, only found it necessary to correct in her first
poems a few mistakes in prosody.

What, then, is the true value of these compositions
which profane writers, incapable of real appreciation,
have thought might be classed with the little pious objects
usually made by nuns, works of ingeniousness or patience
wherein art, in its true sense, is lacking? We notice
first of all that the hymns, intended by Thérése as an
incentive to greater fervour in her companions, have
considerable doctrinal value. In them we can see the
influence of Sacred Scripture, and at times of St John of
the Cross, whose lyric fervour visibly inspires certain
pages. The poem “‘ Fésus, rappelle-tot”’ is simply a résumé
in poetical language of the principal mysteries of our
Saviour’s life. Like the hymns of Blessed Grignion
de Montfort, the young Carmelite’s poetry almost always
drives home some dogmatic truth. This fact alone
should be sufficient recommendation to pastors who
want really instructive hymns for the use of their flocks.
But Thérése’s compositions possess also a literary value
far superior to the majority of hymns now used in our
churches.

Elaborate finish or research will be sought for in vain
in her poems. Intended as they were to be sung, they
claim on that account considerable liberty of composition.
She must be forgiven the multitudinous comparisons
taken from flowers because of her predilection for those
symbols of joy and innocence so graciously fashioned
by the Hand of God. Notwithstanding all this, what
a singular charm there is—a charm which Racine would

1 Poésies de la Bienheureuse Therese de l’Enfant Fésus, Preface,
pp. Vii et ix.

PROFESSION 225

have appreciated—in the purity and freshness of these
soulful or nature-inspired poems.

Neither is there anything artificial in Thérése’s com-
positions. Her whole soul springs forth in streams of
sweet and touching melody. We find in them the
expression of her own childlike candour together with
her refined and profound realization of spiritual things.
Her songs tell of her entire abandonment to her Well-
Beloved, and her numberless devices to obtain from Him
blessings or marks of tenderness; her happy contempla-
tion too of Divine mysteries, and her unbounded desire
for the conversion of the infidel and the sinner. We see
in them her perfect detachment from self, and above all
her love for her heavenly Spouse, that love which was
“an abyss of which she could never sound the depths.”

Flowers, as we have remarked, hold a large place in
her poetry, and in fact, as Pére Jubaru says, “‘ her verses
fall like a shower of petals, fresh and lightly floating,
delicately coloured and sweet with an exquisite perfume.
They are not of marble or onyx, creations like impersonal
Parnassian sonnets; they are living productions.

And he writes again: ‘“‘ Thérése’s heart sang in the
outpouring of her spiritual joy as sings a nightingale in
the midst of the flower-strewn fields of May. Her heart
sang in the severe constraint of trial as sings the crystal
stream amid the rocks of a rude ravine.””!

We shall give some ot these verses when relating the
circumstances in which they were composed. Let us
note just now another of those gracious surprises which
seemed to the loving saint as marks of tender affection
from her loving Saviour. We know how wild flowers
delighted her. There is no doubt that, in making herself
a prisoner at fifteen, she had counted as one of her greatest
sacrifices that of giving up her rambles in springtime
through the hawthorn thickets and the green fields

1 Poesies de la Bien heureuse Thérése de V’Enfant Feésus.

Preface pp. vii et ix.
15

226 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

studded with innumerable flowers. She expected in
the convent nothing more to feast her eyes on than the
red-bricked cloister walls or the bare and unadorned
whiteness of her cell. But scarcely had she entered
Carmel, when from friends, known and unknown, came
a prof sion of sweet-scented flowers destined to honour
the Child Jesus, whose statue she had the charge of
decorating, and also that she herself might enjoy the
sight of familiar flowers again. Never before had she
handled so many cornflowers, poppies, and daisies.
One flower, however, was wanting, the humblest among
the humble, but one which, for that very reason, she
had gathered with predilection. This was the corn-
cockle, hated by the farmer as it damages his crops, but
charming to the artist- eye which discerns its graceful
beauty.1 Thérése was just regretting that she might
never again see this little flower, when she caught sight
of its mauve corolla peeping from a bouquet left for her
in the parlour—a new instance of the solicitude of her
Divine Spouse, He who had sent her the snow for her
reception-day. Her joy was childlike, tempered, how-
ever, by a vivid realization of the nothingness of these
passing satisfactions, even of these gifts which have no
value except as a means of giving praise to eternal Love.
With her characteristic confidence, Thérése had ex-
pressed to her Well-Beloved another desire, higher and
of deeper import, since she thought it concerned in some
degree the glory of the Almighty. She wished to see
Céline join her very soon in her holy retreat, so that she
might initiate her into the joys of perfect immolation.
But how could such a hope be entertained, since Céline
was so necessary in the world as the devoted nurse and
1 An attractive little book entitled La Nielle des blés, ou
Mission de sainte Thérése de l Enfant Fésus auprées des pécheurs,
expounds in several allegorical scenes the Saint’s predilection
for this ‘‘ sister of tares’? which symbolized in her eyes the

souls of sinners. ‘The book can be had from the central Office
of St Thérése de ’ Enfant Jésus at Lisieux.

PROFESSION 227

angel-guardian of her father who was still plunged in
the dark night of suffering? When the paralysis had
become general, M. Martin was taken back to Lisieux,
where he lived with his daughters Léonie and Céline
in a house near the Guérin family. There the ever
deepening lethargy gradually gained dominion over all
his faculties. It was possible, however, to take him
once to the Carmel for a last farewell to his daughters.
At the moment of parting, he raised his eyes, and pointing
towards the eternal meeting-place, he said simply in a
voice choked with emotion, “‘ In heaven.”

Far from fainting under the long-continued weight
of this cross, Thérése set herself to sustain her sisters’
fortitude. She encouraged Céline especially in her
filial devotedness, fostered her hopes regarding the
religious life, and did everything possible to preserve
her against the attacks of the spirit of the world. With
this end in view, she wrote to her sister as often as the
rule permitted. Hence that correspondence so full of
poetic thought, so penetrated with the sacred unction
of Scripture, that it enabled Céline, while yet outside the
convent walls, to share beforehand in the happiness of
the cloister.

Thérése unhesitatingly proposed to her sister the
highest doctrines of perfection, and preached to her the
virtues of whose efficacy she herself had become convinced
in following her “ little way of childhood.” First of all
her own favourite virtue, love of lowliness and oblivion.
Céline must be “‘ the dew-drop which refreshes for one
night the ‘ Lily of the valley,’ a figure of the hidden God.

“ Happy little dew-drop, known to God alone, do not
stay to contemplate the rivers of the world in their noisy
course; envy not even the clear rivulet winding through
the meadow. Undoubtedly its low, sweet song has
charms, but it can be heard by creatures, and the calyx
of the Flower of the fields could not contain it. How
- little we must be in order to approach Jesus. Oh,

228 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

how few souls there are who desire to be little and
unknown.”?

Notwithstanding how feeble the means at her disposal,
the young girl did not hesitate in face of the great apos-
tolic mission so little understood by ordinary Christians.
‘What a mystery!” exclaims Thérése. “Is not Jesus
all-powerful ? Do not all creatures belong to Him who
has created them? Why has He humbled Himself to
say : ‘Pray ye the Lord of the harvest that He send labourers
...? Ah, His love for us is so incomprehensible, so tender,
that it is His will to do nothing without associating us
in the work. The Creator of the universe awaits the
prayer of a poor little soul to save a multitude of others
redeemed like herself at the price of His blood. Our
vocation in Carmel is not to go as reapers into our Father’s
harvest. Jesus has not said to us: ‘ Cast down your eyes,
reap the fields’; our mission is still more sublime. ‘ Lift
up your eyes and see...’ See that in heaven there
are empty places; it is for you to fill them... You
are as Moses praying on the mountain; ask from Me
labourers, and I will send them; I wait only for a prayer,
a sigh from your heart.’”

Though transported to these heights and associated
in these sublime purposes, Céline experienced, never-
theless, the bitterness of aridity. Her loving Carmelite
sister then unfolded to her the secret of turning to profit
these hours of anguish: ‘“‘ Dear little sister, sweet echo of
my soul, your Thérése does not dwell on the mountain
heights at this moment. But see, when I am plunged
in aridity, unable to pray or practise virtue, I look for
little occasions, insignificant opportunities, to give
pleasure to Jesus. A smile, for instance, or a kind word
when I want to remain silent and to show weariness.
If I can find no such occasions, I at least tell Him many
times that I love Him. This is not difficult, and it helps
to keep the fire burning in my heart. Even should the

1 Letter of April 25, 1893. ? Letter of August 13, 1892.

PROFESSION 229

fire of love seem extinct, I would still throw little straws
on the ashes, and I am quite sure that it would revive.”

Each summer from this time onward, M. Martin with
his two daughters spent some months with his brother-
in-law at the chateau de la Musse, which belonged to the
Guérin family, and was situated near Evreux. If the vast
solitudes and enchanting landscapes which Céline could
there enjoy were, in Thérése’s opinion, well calculated
to elevate her mind, it was, on the other hand, difficult
to exclude completely every worldly influence from the
hospitable and beautiful chateau.

At Lisieux, also, there were chance occurrences more
or less dissipating for souls desirous of living continually
in the presence of God. Once, on the occasion of a
marriage, Céline thought that she could not well refuse
an invitation to be present at a dance. Thérése, having
heard of this, became anxious immediately, and summoned
her sister: to the parlour to give her advice. Celine,
thinking her precautions a little exaggerated, remarked
that it was not necessary to “‘ make herself ridiculous.”
Then Thérése, usually so affectionate towards her sister,
did not hesitate to speak in words of indignant sorrow.
“O Céline,” she entreated, “ think of the three young
Hebrews who preferred to be thrown into the fiery
furnace rather than bend the knee before a golden statue.
And you, the spouse of Jesus by your vow of chastity,’
would you imitate the folly of the age and adore the
world’s golden statue by giving yourself to dangerous
pleasures? Take heed of this warning given on behalf
of God.”

Insistence was unnecessary, for Céline was not in the
least attracted by the dance. Obliged, nevertheless, to
be present at the soirée, to which her uncle brought her,
she refused for a long time, even at the risk of offending

1 Sixteenth Letter (undated).

2 Céline had already made this vow privately before she
entered the convent.

230 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

several, to join in the amusement. In the end, she was,
to use her own expression, “‘ literally forced ” by a young
cavalier. But, astonishing to relate, both one and the
other found themselves immediately as though paralyzed,
so that they were not able to go through a single move-
ment of the dance. In vain did Céline endeavour to
follow the music in order to save her partner from con-
fusion; she could not succeed. The two dancers, held
by an invisible force, could do nothing but walk “ with
solemn steps,” until the young cavalier, having conducted
Céline back to her seat, quietly slipped away much
abashed, and did not dare to appear again. Celine ever
afterwards believed that she owed this intervention to
the prayers of her dear Thérése.!

This incident was the only diversion of any importance
in her life while she was nursing her father. Her sorrowful
duties as nurse were soon to end. On July 29, 1894, her
father died at M. Guérin’s house, the chateau de la Musse,
after repaying her devotion and tender care with a last
look of loving gratitude. Her filial task had been long,
and generously accomplished. She was now free to
enter the haven for which she had longed through so
many years.

But the question arose; was the Carmel of Lisieux
to receive four sisters of the Martin family ? Would not
this be against the traditions, or even the spirit of the
Order? Mére Marie de Gonzague, then Mistress of
novices and Council Sister, strongly encouraged the
Prioress, Mére Agnés de Jésus, to make this exception.
She adduced the exceptional dispositions of the four
sisters in support of her recommendation. However,
the fear of creating a precedent which might later open
the door to abuses, seemed to haunt the mind of the one
nun who made no secret of her opposition to Céline
being admitted.

1 Cf. Summarium of 1919, p. 400, § 1013.

> eee

PROFESSION 231

Faced with this obstacle, Thérése set herself with
fervent hope to invoke her father, now with God in His
Kingdom, he who had been so anxious while living to
consecrate all his daughters to Him. The dear saint
begged Jesus to remove the obstacle quickly. She even
dared, one day, to ask after Holy Communion, that this
might be granted as a sign that her father had entered
at once into the joys of heaven. Scarcely had she
finished her thanksgiving, when she met the nun who
had held out in opposition to Céline’s entrance. This
Sister called her, and as though almost ashamed of her
former attitude, told her earnestly how happy she would
be to see Céline in the Carmel.

Nothing now prevented the young girl from rejoining
the dear companion of her childhood in her holy retreat.
Did Thérése fear that with Céline’s desire for immolation
in an austere Order was mingled some small share of
human joy at the prospect of being once more with her
sisters? In any case, she wished to communicate to
the future postulant a presentiment she had of the days
to come, which was well calculated to overthrow any
dreams of a long and happy reunion of the four sisters
beneath the convent roof.

When everything had been arranged, she wrote to
Céline: ‘‘ This is perhaps the last time, my dear little
sister, that my pen must serve me for a talk with you;
the good God has granted my dearest wish.

“Come, we will suffer together, and then the good
God will take one of us, and the others will remain a little
while longer in exile. Now hearken to what I am going to
say to you. Never, never will God separate us. If I die
before you, do not think that I shall ever be separated from
your soul ; never shall we have been more united. Do not,
above all, be troubled by my prophecy, it is but child-
ishness. I am not ill; I am strong as iron; but God can
break iron as easily as potter’s clay. .

“Our dear father is making us feel his presence in a

232 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

way that is profoundly touching. After five long years
of deathlike separation, what joy to find him as of old,
and even more fatherly. Oh, how well will he repay you
for all your care of him. You have been his angel; he
will now be yours. See, he has not yet been a month
in heaven, and already by his powerful intercession all
your projects succeed. It is now easy for him to arrange
what concerns us, therefore has he had less trouble for
Céline than he had for his poor little queen.”*

Not quite a month later, on September 14, 1894,
Céline was received into the Carmel, where she was to
become Sceur Geneviéve de la Sainte-Face et de Sainte-
Thérése.

Jesus had royally fulfilled the desires of His mystic
spouse. Her supernatural love of suffering had been,
and was to be to the very end, superabundantly satisfied ;
that interior voice which, from her earliest years, made
the “little flower” believe that she would be plucked
in the springtime of her life seemed an answer to the
secret aspiration which made her hail death as a messenger
of joy. She had now nothing further to wish for except
that she might love Jesus even to folly. This love
without reserve, without limit or condition, will be
henceforth the sole guiding force of her actions and her
life, as her only attitude towards the merciful and all-
powerful Saviour will be that of abandonment, of supreme
and perfect self-surrender.

1 Letter of August 19, 1894.

CHAPTER IX

INTERIOR LIFE AT THE CARMEL—DIVINE LOVE THE SOURCE
OF ALL THERESE’S PERFECTION—QUALITIES OF THIS
LOVE AND ITS PRINCIPAL MANIFESTATIONS—THERESE’S
DEVOTION TO THE BLESSED VIRGIN AND THE SAINTS

ITH Céline’s entrance into the convent closes,

V \ so to speak, the external biography of Thérése

de |’Enfant Jésus. What remains to be noted
before her happy birth into life eternal cannot be classified
as events, a name not to be given to the minute details
which made up her life as refectorian, portress, linen-
keeper, or even sacristan. Only her office as assistant-
mistress of novices gives matter for varied and striking
narratives. Thus we shall henceforth be solely occupied
with the consideration of the Saint’s life of love within
these walls which cut off earthly horizons and oblige her
to keep ever fixed on Heaven her eyes, withdrawn from
the vanities of earth.

We have described the awakening and early growth of
this life, in delineating her ingenuous childhood and
youth, filled with eagerness for her spiritual espousals
with. Jesus. It remains for us to give the characteristics
of this union, the principal actions which rooted it firmly
in the “ garden enclosed ” of the Spouse, and its conse-
quent fruits whether for the glory of the Well-Beloved,
or for Thérése’s own happiness, or for the good of the
souls around her.

To this enumeration will naturally be joined a rapid
glance at the principal traits which characterized her love
for her neighbour, the second object of the Master’s
great commandment.

Her other supernatural qualities being in the Saint’s

233

234 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

own estimation only the expansion of love, we shall have
to describe later her growth in monastic virtues, properly
so called, under the influence of Divine charity. Then
we shall make known the “ little way of spiritual child-
hood ”’ that she believed it her duty to reveal at the end
of her life, with the different means of sanctification

therein inculcated which she herself had continually
practised.

Certain spiritual writers give love as the culminating
point of all the other virtues. Such is not Thérese’s
theory; on the contrary, she makes all advancement in
the ways of God proceed from love. ‘“‘ You ask of me,”
she wrote to her cousin, “a way to arrive at perfection.
I know of only one—Love.””!

Concerning her methods of progress she was one day
questioned: ‘‘ You must have had to strive hard in order

to conquer self so completely?” ‘‘ Oh, it is not that,”
she said. And we find elsewhere the explanation of her
answer. ‘“‘ Certain directors advise us, I know, to count

our acts of virtue in order to advance in the way of
perfection. But my Director, who is Jesus, does not
teach me to count my acts, He directs me fo do all through
love.” On the eve of her death she was able to say: “J
have never given the good God anything but love.”

Her confidence in this method was inspired by its
perfect conformity with St Paul’s teaching according to
which the most perfect of gifts is nothing without love,*
and also by its intimate connection with this maxim of
St John of the Cross: ‘‘ The smallest movement of pure
love is of more benefit to the Church than all other works
put together.” She could have found the same teaching,
had she read the writings of St Francis de Sales, in a
characteristic reply given by the eminent doctor to a nun
of his time: ‘“‘ I wish,” she said, ‘“‘to acquire love by

1 Letter to Marie Guérin, 1894.

2 Letter to Céline, July 6, 1893. 8 Cf. 1 Cor. xiii.

INTERIOR LIFE AT THE CARMEL 235

humility.” “I,” he replied, ‘‘ wish to acquire humility —
by love.”

Besides, the wish to make love the basis of every action

had come to Thérése as the effect of grace. She had so
perfectly corresponded, even from earliest childhood, to
the appeals of the God of love that Divine charity, infused
into her soul at baptism, had power ever since the dawn
- of reason to control all her actions.
- Moreover, this constant love which was to be the law
of her life must not be taken for simply a series of
affective emotions. We have seen with what generosity
she conquered herself while yet in the world, in order
to please Jesus. As a Carmelite, self-effacement, self-
conquest, and self-sacrifice will be now, more than ever,
the continual exercise of her love.

Let us consider some of those actions which reveal the
energy, generosity, disinterestedness, and delicacy of
her charity, particularly in the years that followed her
profession. We have seen Thérese Martin as a young
girl, and even as a child, combat with indefatigable
courage the little faults and imperfections over which
grace had not yet obtained the mastery. Even in Carmel
she had to strive, at least in the beginning, against her
natural tendencies, not yet completely subdued.

We know how much it cost her to observe the rule of
never excusing oneself. She tells of another point which
caused her many a struggle, in which she gained victories
from the first. “‘ During my novitiate,” she says, “I
found it very difficult, on account of my great timidity, to
ask permission for certain mortifications customary in
our convents. But I was always most faithful in doing
this."

1 Cited in The Spirit of St Therese de Enfant Fésus according
to Her Writings and the Testimony of Eye-Witnesses, p. 21. We
have frequently, in writing this and the following chapters,
consulted this excellent work composed from the most reliable
sources.

236 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

She was asked to undertake almost without any pre-
paration little works of painting. She consented heartily,
but it happened sometimes that, in her absence, an
absent-minded companion threw her brushes and other
instruments into disorder, mislaying perhaps a ruler
or penknife. On perceiving this, Thérése, so methodical
by nature, very nearly saw ‘‘ her patience abandon her.”
But she hastened to “‘ take hold of it with both hands ”
and gently reclaimed the missing articles.

The religious life also held for Thérése combats of a
different order, wherein she won, for love of Jesus, more
difficult victories. In the cloistered and silent life of a
Carmelite nun, nature finds some relief in speaking to
the only person with whom the rule allows conversation
outside recreation hours, the Prioress of the convent.
With her extremely sensitive soul, Seur Thérése de
Enfant Jésus would have become attached to Mére
Marie de Gonzague, if the good mother had not thought
it necessary, for motives no doubt praiseworthy, to dis-
courage her. In spite of all, the young religious loved
these little conferences with her Prioress, and if she had
listened to her natural inclinations, she would, in order
to approach her, have resorted to the “‘ pretext of having
numberless permissions to ask.” Her heart urged her
on, but scrupulous fidelity to duty forbade her to yield
to its promptings. At times, the temptation was so
strong that Thérése had, as she tells us, to pass rapidly
by the Mother Prioress’s cell. She would even “ cling
to the banister of the stairs so that she might not return.”’

This natural attraction was conquered.. Another
victory undoubtedly more meritorious was gained over
a strong and persistent antipathy. A certain nun was a
continual source of trial to Thérése, and we know what a
burden, and how depressing constantly recurring little
contrarieties can become when there is not much to
divert the mind. But the dear saint did not neglect such
an opportunity of offering a fine sheaf of sacrifices to her

INTERIOR LIFE AT THE CARMEL 237

heavenly Spouse. ‘I set myself,” she says “ to do for

this Sister what I would have done for the person I loved
best. Every time I met her, I prayed to the good God
for her; but I did not content myself with that, I tried
to render every possible service, and when tempted to
answer her in a disagreeable manner, I hastened to give
her instead an amiable smile. When the demon tempted
*me too violently, and that I could get without her per-
ceiving my inward struggle, I fled from the fight like a
deserting soldier.’’!

It was not alone the natural tendencies of character
that had to be combated, but also a violent and distressing
temptation with which the demon by Divine permission
afflicted Thérése. She had experienced in the world, as
we know, periods of spiritual darkness; but one would
naturally expect that in the convent, wholly devoted to
her life of love, she would no longer find veiled from the
eyes of faith the Divine realities which she adored and
praised. Yet such was not the case, and the following
acknowledgement made only a year before her death
reveals interior anguish infinitely more distressing than
all the mortifications of community life. ‘‘ When I sing
of the happiness of heaven, of the eternal possession of
God, I feel no joy, for I sing simply what I wish to believe.’’

Did the fervent nun abandon herself to this obsession
which lasted long months? She tells in her Auto-
biography how hard was the struggle, but also of the
indomitable efforts which secured her peace of soul.
“When the enemy wishes to entice me to combat, I
behave on every occasion as a brave soldier should.
Knowing that to fight a duel is an unworthy act, I turn
my back on the adversary without even looking him
in the face and run to my Jesus. I tell Him that I am
willing to shed my blood to testify to my belief that there
isa heaven. He knows well that, although I have not the
consolations of faith, I strive to work by faith. I have
; 1 Histoire d’une Ame, ch. ix, p. 174+

238 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

uttered more acts of faith during this one year than in all
the rest of my life.’’+

After a period of combat wherein all the graces of the
religious life strengthened her resistance, nature was at
last conquered. Thérése’s soul was ready for the highest
ascents ; she set forth on her career of love with a generosity
which from that time onward was to be one of the charac-
teristics of her life of immolation in Carmel.

This prodigality in giving herself was not of recent
date, for at the age of three she formed the habit of
never refusing anything to Jesus, and shortly before her
first Communion, she wrote: ‘‘I try every day to make
a great many little sacrifices. I do my best to let no
opportunity escape me.”

But when once impregnated with the maxims of St
Teresa, and entirely surrendered to the spirit of Carmel,
she did not fear to say: ‘‘ Complete immolation of self
is the only thing worthy to be called love,” and she acted
accordingly.

There is no true love here below without suffering.
Whoever really loves Jesus must, in the words of St
Paul, consummate in his own flesh the work of Calvary.*
He must also associate himself in the Divine work of
expiation for abandoned souls, remembering that the
salvation of souls is won by the shedding of blood.‘

Now 'Thérése, as we know, longed to offer Jesus an
efficacious love, she wanted to love Him “‘ as never before
had He been loved.” Thus it was that she embraced
with ever growing ardour the most rigorous mortifica-
tions, to advance His kingdom and to give Him pleasure.
First of all by physical suffering. We are already aware
of the privations imposed by the Carmelite rule itself,

1 Histoire d’une Ame, ch. ix, p. 161.
2 Letter to Mere Agnés de Jésus, February, 1884.

* Adimpleo ea quae desunt passionum Christi in carne mea
(Col. i 24).
4 Sine sanguinis effusione non fit remissio (Heb. ix 22).

erg

INTERIOR LIFE AT THE CARMEL 239

all of which Thérése embraced without the least relaxa-
tion. She also found means of supplementing in her own
case the rigours of the ordinary observance in order to
unite herself more closely by love to her Saviour, hu-
miliated, torn by stripes, and expiring on a gibbet.

The privations in question appear slight if taken
separately; the real mortification consists in continual
. practice, therefore she faithfully observed the minutest
- recommendations and customs of religious life, as, for
instance, never to lean for support against anything with-
out permission, to hold oneself erect, to avoid raising
the hands to the face in choir, never to seek a too easy
position, not even for the sake of rest.

Except in case of absolute necessity, she never wiped
- away the perspiration which, during certain heavy
manual labour, rolled down her face. This would have
been, in her opinion, a means of showing that she felt
oppressively hot, and so of calling attention to her
sufferings. Then, in winter, she exposed to the cold
without any precaution her poor hands, usually all
swollen and covered with painful chilblains.

The Carmelite rule itself enjoins real penances, such
as the frequent use of the discipline. One day, when
Thérése was speaking on this subject to a novice who
needed to be urged forward in the spiritual life, the latter
made the observation that persons who use these instru-
ments of penance, instinctively avoid certain movements
which inflict greater pain. The saint, astonished at the
remark, made this confession: “‘ As for me, I find that
it is not worth doing things by halves. I take the dis-
cipline to make myself suffer, and I wish that it should
inflict as much punishment as possible... . Neverthe-
less,” she added with characteristic kindness, ‘‘I do
not counsel you to do this. Act therein with great
simplicity.”

But she admitted that at times this penance caused her
such suffering that tears came to her eyes. She quickly

240 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

drove them back, however, and forced herself to smile,
so that her countenance reflected the feelings of her heart,
overjoyed as it was to suffer for the Well-Beloved in order
to win souls to Him.*

Here is an example of heroic patience. A Sister, one
day in readjusting the saint’s scapular, drove into her
shoulder the point of the large pin used to keep the scapu-
lar in place. Thérése made no remark but left it so, and
continued her work. This incident occurred during her
novitiate. When it was made known near the close of her |
life she was asked how long she had endured the pain.
“¢ Several hours,” she replied simply. ‘‘ I went to the cellar
to refill the bottles, and brought them back in their baskets.
I felt very happy. But, in the end, I began to fear that
I was not acting according to obedience, since our Mother
knew nothing about it.’”

Thérése had wished, moreover, to use another instru-
ment of penance every day on which the rule did not
prescribe the discipline. She wore for a long time on her
breast a cross furnished with sharp iron points, and only
when ulceration set in did she part with this penitential
jewel.

Her mortification in the matter of clothing is already
known. ‘To give some further examples: Thérése was
glad when the Sister in charge of the linen gave her what
was oldest and much patched; and when opportunity
occurred she laughingly encouraged her to do so. She
was content with a habit which was most unskilfully cut,
and wore it without showing the least sign of discomfort
or repugnance.

Not alone in supporting passing mortifications,
however trying, did the saint wish to suffer for Jesus.
She longed for martyrdom, a longing which became
more and more ardent the nearer she approached to
the end.

1 Cf. Summarium of 1919, p. 623, § 1822.
2 Summarium, p. 203, § 702.

INTERIOR LIFE AT THE CARMEL 241

The last years of the nineteenth century witnessed
the growing strength of freemasonry against religious
congregations, and irreligious sects of every denomination
began to threaten openly. The Mother Prioress thought
it right to speak to Thérése about the coming storm.
The saint radiant with delight went immediately to find

one of her companions. ‘‘ Our Mother,” she said, “‘ has
_ just told me of the persecution already raging against
- religious communities... . What joy! The good God

is going to realize the grandest dream of my life... .
Ah, let us no longer trouble ourselves about the petty
miseries of the present; let us endeavour to bear them
generously that we may merit so great a grace.’’!

Bodily suffering is small in comparison to martyrdom
of the heart which the generous child accepted or desired.
We know with what constancy she endured the terrible
trial of her father’s illness, which she ever looked on as
a blessing from the God of merciful Love.

We know too of her self-imposed reserve in regard to
her own sisters from the time of her entrance. This
severity towards herself was to cease only with her last
hour. Shortly after her death, a nun asked Sceur Marie
du Sacré-Cceur why she had not appeared to seek more
the companionship of her angelic sister. ‘ Alas,’ she
replied, ‘‘ how could I? I often longed to do so, but
through fidelity to the rule, she would not have liked to
speak to me.’”

Towards her other relatives she maintained even
stricter reserve, and to this mortification of the heart she
remained faithful to the end, continually recommending
the practice. Realizing the gravity of her illness, she said
one day in private to her sisters: “‘ When I am gone, take
care that you do not ‘lead a family life.’ Be watchful
never to refer without permission to conversations you
have had in the parlour, and do not ask for permission

1 Summarium, p. 715, § 2166.
2 Summarium of 1919, p. 509, § 1368.
16

242 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

except when there is question of something useful, not
merely amusing.”

Thérése de l’Enfant Jésus had sacrificed to her heavenly
Spouse the joys of family life. But there remained to her
this adopted family to which she was attached by bonds
that became ever dearer and closer. There were in the
Carmel kindred souls, the fragrance of whose virtues filled
her with happiness. Then it was, that a French Carmel,
just founded in the vicinity of Hanoi in the pagan terri-
tory of Tonkin, asked for subjects from the Lisieux
monastery.” Mére Marie de Gonzague had at one
moment thought of singling out Thérése for this mission
of devotedness. Carried away by the desire of going to
die for Jesus alone, far from all she loved here below, but
fearing that her health, even then greatly shaken, would
be an obstacle, she wrote in her private notes: “I am
loved here, and this affection is, to me, very sweet. For
that reason I desire a monastery where I should be un-
known, where I should have to suffer exile of heart. . . .
I would go to Hanoi to suffer much for God; I would go
there in order to be entirely alone, to have no consolation, no
joy on this earth.”” Mark to whata degree of generosity this
young virgin had attained in giving herself without the
smallest reserve to her only Beloved. Do we read of any-
thing more heroic in the lives of the most renowned saints ?

Not alone by prodigality in sacrifice will her courage
henceforth be measured, but by energy of action. Speak-
ing to a novice in whom she confided, Thérése said:
“When in the world, my thoughts on awaking in the
morning went instinctively to the probable events of the
coming day, and when I foresaw annoyances, I rose with
sadness. Nowitis quite the contrary. I rise all the more
joyfully and full of courage, the more occasions I foresee
of proving my love for Jesus and saving souls. Then

1 Summarium of 1919, p. 624, §§ 1828-1829.
2 The Carmel of Hanoi had been founded by that of Saigon,
which was itself founded from Lisieux.

INTERIOR LIFE AT THE CARMEL 243

I kiss my crucifix and say to Him: ‘ My Jesus, Thou hast
laboured enough during the thirty-three years of Thy life
on this miserable earth. ‘To-day, take Thy rest; it is my
turn to strive and to suffer.’”’

Are these traits, giving, as they do, a true picture of
Thérése, showing the strong character of her virtue, are
they sufficient to destroy the legend of a little saint with
pleasing airs, too often occupied in strewing flowers or
bestowing smiles ?

If it be necessary to accentuate still more the efficacious
force of this charity which led her to dare all and to
sacrifice all for Jesus, we would dwell on the absolute
disinterestedness of the love lavished unceasingly on her
Divine Spouse. Certain facts in addition to the examples
already cited will bring this into the full light.

From the commencement of Thérése’s religious life,
her Saviour insistently deprived her of the sense of His
Presence. He concealed Himself and fled from her, leaving
the young saint abandoned in that dark tunnel which she
has described as mournful solitude. Still withal, she
declares: ‘‘ I am only too happy to see that Jesus does not
treat me as a stranger, that He is not constrained with me,
for I assure you that He goes to no trouble to hold conver-
sation with me.””!

And confiding to the Blessed Virgin her patience in this
latter trial, keenly felt but generously loved, she tells her
in one of her hymns:

“Each gift of His to me can Jesus claim again;
Tell Him to be in naught constrained with me;

He may conceal His Face, in patience I remain,
Till faith shall fade in bright Eternity.’

1 Letter to Mére Agnés de Jésus, January, 1889.
2 Hymn entitled: Why I love thee, Mary. She had expressed
the same thought in that other hymn Vivre d’ Amour:

“To live Love’s life means gifts unceasingly—
No thought of recompense below—
Unreckoning I give, urged by the certainty
That lovers’ hearts no paltry counting know.”

244 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

Some weeks before her death, she said in confidence to
her sister, Marie du Sacré-Cceur: ‘‘ Suppose God were
to say to me, ‘If you die immediately, you shall have
very great glory in heaven. If you die at eighty, your
glory will be much less, but My pleasure much greater.’
Then, I would not hesitate to reply, ‘My God, I wish to
die at eighty, for I do not seek my own glory but Thy
pleasure.’ 1

At the very height of her prolonged trial against faith,
which, as she declares, took from her every feeling of
joy, she cries out again: “‘ Lord, Thou hast filled me
with joy by every act of Thine . . . for can any joy be
compared to suffering for Thy love ?”” She strives to hide
her trouble from others that so her patience may be
pleasing to her Divine Master, and says to Him: “‘ The
more intense the suffering, the less it appears outwardly,
the better is it fitted to draw a smile from Thee, O my God.
And if, by impossibility, it were hidden even from Thee,
I would still be happy to suffer, in the hope that, by my
tears, I could prevent or expiate a single sin against
Faith.’””

Our saint’s all-absorbing desire was to console Jesus,
o bring a smile to His Sacred Face, even if it might cost
her the most cruel martyrdom. Moreover, she will make
it her study to smile at sacrifice. Useless to speak to her
of earthly exile, of the valley of tears, of the battlefield
of life. “‘ We must sing,” she says; “‘ our life should be
a melody.” And again:

“Smiling I face war’s armoury,
And in Thy arms, Saviour Friend,

Singing on battle-field I’ll die
With sword in hand.’

The harder her sacrifices the more joyous will she be.
“Yes, I will sing, I will sing always, even if I must gather .

1 Summarium of 1919, p. 577, § 1627.
® Histoire d’une Ame, chap. ix, p. 160.
® Poem entitled: My Arms.

INTERIOR LIFE AT THE CARMEL 245

my roses from the midst of thorns; and my song shall be
all the sweeter the longer and sharper the thorns.’’!

This gladness in suffering she justifies by a new motive
of delicate consideration for her Beloved. ‘‘ The good
God has already enough sorrow, He who loves us so much,
in being obliged to leave us on earth to fulfil our time of
trial, without our constantly reminding Him that we are
suffering ; we should pretend not to notice it.”

She desired that a novice to whom she had been assigned
as “‘angel”’ to initiate her into the practices of Carmel,
should also bear the Saviour’s yoke with gladness. Find-
ing her one day in tears, she gently reminded her that
she must form the habit of not allowing her little troubles
to appear. ‘“ That is true,” replied the young Sister;
“IT will shed no tears in future except in the presence of
God alone.” ‘‘ Take care not to do that,” replied the
saint. “‘ This good Master has but our monasteries to
rejoice His Heart. He comes to us that He may forget
the constant complainings of His friends in the world,
and would you act like the commonest of mortals? ...
Jesus loves the cheerful heart. When will you know how
to hide from Him your sorrows or to tell Him in joyous
song that you are glad to suffer for Him ?’”

Love, when it has attained to this degree, is not divided;
thus it is to Jesus alone that Thérése has given her whole
heart. This exclusive gift dates from her early girlhood.
We remember her dispositions, avowed by herself, during
these years of mingled sadness and joy. ‘“‘ Jesus was my
only Friend; I could speak to none but Him alone.”

She writes of these dispositions more explicitly during
her retreat for reception of the holy habit. ‘“‘ I wish to
give all my love to Jesus, since He has made me under-
stand that He alone is perfect happiness, even when He
seems to be absent.”’*

1 Histoire d’une Ame, chap. xi, p. 218.

2 Spirit of St Thérése de ? Enfant Fésus, p. 43.

8 Summarium of 1919, p. 512, § 1578.

4 Letter to Mére Agnés de Jésus, January, 1889.

246 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

This conviction became stronger later on, and, after
two years’ experience of the religious life, Thérése again
wrote to her sister, Agnés de Jésus: ‘‘ We must with
jealous care keep all for Jesus. How good it is to work
for Himalone. . . . How full of joy the heart is then and
how buoyant the spirit. . . .””*

The affection lavished by Thérése on Jesus was all the
more meritorious as she rarely enjoyed consolation. Her
love for her Saviour, exceptionally strong, generous, deli-
cate and disinterested, was, at the same time, even in the
midst of aridity, tender and burning, equal to the love
which consumed the most ardent lovers of the Crucified.
It could well be said of her that ‘“‘ she loved God as a child
loves its father, with outbursts of incredible tenderness.’”?

In fact, she did not hesitate to call the Almighty, “‘ Papa,
le bon Dieu,” just as she instinctively referred to the Blessed
Virgin as ‘“‘ Maman.” But what reveals more clearly the
depths of her soul, than do these loving names, is the
intensity of feeling with which she spoke to the young
Sisters, when charged with their formation, of the great
duty and charm of divine Love. She could never refer
without emotion to the following maxims of St John of
the Cross: “* At the close of life, you will be judged accord-
ing to your love. Learn then to love God as He deserves,
and leave yourself out of the question.” And again, “ It
is of the highest importance that the soul should be well
exercised in love, that so, being rapidly consumed, she will
tarry but a short time here below and quickly attain to
the vision of God face to face.’’*

So intimate had Thérése’s union with God become,
that according to Mére Agnés de Jésus, one would have
said that she saw the Almighty continually. At all
events, she tells us herself that her thoughts never wan-

1 Cited in The Spirit of St Thérése de l’ Enfant Fésus, p. 49.

® Deposition of Sceur Geneviéve de la Sainte Face, Summa-
rium of 1919, p. 334, § 852.

3 Summarium of 1919, p. 496, §§ 1339 and 1341.

INTERIOR LIFE AT THE CARMEL 247

dered far from the Object of her love. Her eldest sister
had the following conversation with her one day:

““How do you manage,” said Sceur Marie du Sacré-
Ceeur, “ to think always about God ?”

“Tt is not difficult: we think naturally on those we
love.”

“Then, you never lose the sense of His presence ?”

“Oh, no! I believe I have never been three minutes
without thinking of Him.”

Her permanent state then was that “ fusion ”’ of which
little Thérése had experienced the joy on the day of her
first Communion.

Such a degree of charity brought as a necessary fruit
perfection in the religious spirit. Need we recall the
respect shown by Sceur Thérése for sacred things, more
especially for the sacraments?? Let us note simply
some new characteristics of her devotion towards the
Holy Eucharist which brought her not only assistance
and grace, but the adored person and burning heart of
her Saviour. During her last illness, she was shown
for her consolation the chalice of a young priest who
had just said his first Mass. She looked, as she had
so often done before, into the sacred vessel and said to
her companions: “‘ My image is reflected at the bottom
of this chalice where the Blood of Jesus has been, and
into.which this precious Blood will again so many times
descend. I thank you for procuring me this joy, so
much appreciated when I was sacristan.’’*

She desired ardently to receive her Saviour every day.
“It is not to remain in the golden ciborium,”’ she has
written, ‘‘ that Jesus descends each day from heaven, but
to find another heaven, the heaven of our soul where He

1 Summarium of 1919, p. 577, § 1626.

2 We shall refer later on to her loving obedience towards
superiors, whom she considered as the lieutenants of God.

3 Cf. Summarium of 1919, p. 563, § 1556.

248 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

takes His delight.” We know of the obstacles opposed
to her aspirations by the custom of that time. With what
a sense of relief, then, did she welcome the decree of
Leo XIII giving, even in communities, the right to
confessors of deciding the frequency of the Communions.
She was not destined, alas, to enjoy to the full the longed-
for liberty. Save during the epidemic already mentioned
with all its attendant sufferings, she was never in her life
able to receive daily Communion. During her illness, it
needed heroic courage to avail herself of the community’s
ordinary days for Holy Communion. To see her then
dragging herself with painful exhaustion to the chapel
was a sight to draw tears.

But she counted on obtaining for her companions,
when she would’be with God in His kingdom, the gift
that had been refused her here below. Guided by
prophetic light, she even predicted the change so ardently
desired.

One day, as she was speaking to Sceur Marie du Sacre-
Ceeur of this privation which had made her suffer so
keenly, she added: ‘‘ It will not be always so. A time will
come when we shall have perhaps as chaplain M. l’Abbé
Hodierne, and he will allow us Holy Communion every
day.”

At this time, no human circumstance pointed to the
future destination of this priest, referred to by Thérése.
‘““Why,” asked her sister, “‘do you think of the Abbé
Hodierne as our future chaplain?” ‘I hope,’’ answered
Thérese, “ that he will come, and we shall be very fortunate
to have him.”

A few days after Thérése’s death, Abbé Hodierne was
appointed chaplain to the Carmel, and he took as text for
his first instruction the words: ‘‘ Come and eat my Bread.”
It was an invitation to daily Communion, a privilege that
he counted on extending to the community, without their
having as yet expressed to him the desire.

1 Histoire d’une Ame, chap. v, p. 80.

+ 2 nse neil

INTERIOR LIFE AT THE CARMEL 249

The above conversation was of a private nature. But
it was in presence of several nuns that Thérése, already
stretched on her bed of suffering, promised, that once in
the glory of paradise, she would cause ‘‘ a shower of roses ”
to fall upon the earth. Can we not recognize in the
abundance of Eucharistic Bread, distributed daily imme-
diately. after her death, one form of this beneficent shower

‘in which she obtained that her dear community should
participate from the first ?

This passionate lover of Jesus could not fail to have
\.a very special devotion towards the most expressive
- symbol of His love, the Sacred Heart. She judged, in
fact, that it is impossible for anyone inflamed with this
devotion to be lost, and to its power she attributed the
most wonderful effects. She said of a certain person whose
failings disconcerted everybody: ‘‘ I assure you that on
account of her devotion to the Sacred Heart, God will

_ have pity on her.” And of another whose salvation was
in danger: “‘ Because of her devotion to the Sacred
Heart, she will be saved, yet, so as by fire.”

Besides, she could not meditate on the Sacred Heart
of Jesus without thinking of His divine action on her soul.
Her devotion had a particularly intimate and personal
character. The Heart that she adored was to her ardent
and all-embracing love the Spouse to whom she had given
herself, and to whose advances she corresponded with
increasing tenderness.

In 1890, Céline received from her at Paray-le-Monial
the following lines: ‘‘ Pray fervently in the holy sanctuary.
You know that I do not look on the Sacred Heart in the
same way as others do. I simply consider that the Heart
of my Spouse is mine alone, just as mine is His alone, and
I speak to Him heart to heart in this delicious solitude
while waiting to contemplate Him one day with no veil
between.”

Her adoration of the divine Heart found its complete

266 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

and crowning expression in her devotion to the Holy Face
which was, as we know, for her the mirror reflecting the
soul of her Beloved.

,
;

Thérése’s heart, so inflamed for her celestial Spouse, ~

naturally cherished a tender affection for the Mother who
had given this Saviour to the world. Besides, she did not
forget that Mary had saved her from imminent death,
and her devotion had that character of filial and childlike
confidence which had already won for her the predilection
of the Almighty. We have this exemplified in the follow-
ing beautiful words: “‘ I love to hide my pain from the good
God, for with Him I wish to appear happy, pleased at

everything He does. But from the Blessed Virgin I hide.

nothing; I tell her all.’

Her splendid confidence was founded partly on what,
she tells us, she herself had noticed, and concerning which
she counselled others thus: ‘‘ When we address our
petitions to the saints, they make us wait a little while;
we feel that they have to go and present their request.
But when we ask a favour of the Blessed Virgin, we
receive immediate help. Have you not remarked this?
Try it and you will see.”

Relying absolutely on this help, she had recourse to
the Mother of God with charming freedom and familiarity.
When charged with the formation of the novices, she would
bring them to the miraculous statue of our Lady, and say:
“Tt is not to me, but to the Blessed Virgin, that you are
going to avow those things which cost you most.” And
to encourage these young souls in the path of virtue, she
sometimes wrote little letters to them in the name of the
holy Virgin, their Mother and Mistress.

When already very ill, she said to her dear Céline, now
Sceur Genevieve de la Sainte Face: ‘‘ I have still some-
thing to do before I die. I have always longed to express
in a hymn to the Blessed Virgin all I think of her.”
And she composed her verses “ Why I love thee, Mary.”

1 Summarium, p. 490, § 1397.

| INTERIOR LIFE AT THE CARMEL 251

It is a poetic résumé of the Queen of Heaven’s life, and
concludes with a trustful prayer:

** Soon shall I hear it, this sweet harmony;
Soon in bright heaven find thy vision clear.
Thou who at morn of life didst smile on me,
Give me thy smile again; the eve is here.”

The holy angels, more especially her angel guardian,
had also a high place in Sceur Thérése’s devotion. She
confided to one of the novices that it was through respect
for her heavenly guardian she always tried to bear herself
with becoming dignity and avoided, for instance, even
knitting her brows or contracting her features. ‘‘ The
countenance,” she said, ‘“‘is the reflection of the soul.
Yours should be always calm and open as that of a little
child, even when you are alone, for you are constantly
in the sight of God and His angels.’”!

We know of Thérése’s filial affection for St Joseph,
whom she had made (before her pilgrimage to Italy) the
guardian of her virtue, and to whose intervention she
always attributed the salutary decree of Leo XIII regard-
ing frequent Communion.

She honoured all the saints in general, but amongst
them she had special patrons. St Martin, St Francis
de Sales, St Teresa and St John of the Cross received
regularly the homage which she considered was in all
justice due to them. She had besides her saints of pre-
dilection.

First amongst these was St Cecilia, whose expressive
and sweet countenance, as seen in the catacomb of St Calix-
tus in Rome, had strongly impressed her, and whom
she named “the saint of abandonment.” ‘Then came
St Joan of Arc, whose pure, high-souled features could
not fail to attract her. She had also a marked devotion
towards a young missionary martyred at Tonkin, Blessed
Théophane Vénard, whose Life she had read with delight.

1 Summarium of 1919, p. 490, § 1328.

252 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

‘*T love him,” she explained, ‘‘ because he is a quite simple
little saint who cherished devotion to the Blessed Virgin
and had such sincere affection for his family, and who,
above all, lived in loving abandonment to God.”

Finally, the fervent nun, who held in so high estimation
the life of spiritual childhood, invoked with faith the Holy
Innocents, who in her eyes were most naturally the
patrons of Christian childhood.

Thérése multiplied her marks of devotion to the
blessed in heaven, for she saw in them the most perfect
image of Jesus. Always it was God whom she loved in
His saints; but according to the great precept of the law of
love, her charity was to extend to less privileged beings.
We have seen her in the world surround with tenderness
the weak and poverty-stricken. The time has come to
admire the generosity with which she continued in the
cloister to devote herself to others for the love of God.

CHAPTER X

CHARITY OF ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS TOWARDS HER
NEIGHBOUR—HER DEVOTION TO THE NOVICES UNDER
HER DIRECTION — HER SPIRITUAL HELP TO TWO
MISSIONARIES

URING the summer of 1897, when already wasted
)D by the malady which was to bring her life to a close,

Sceur Thérése de l’Enfant Jésus was often to be
found in the garden of the monastery enjoying the glorious
sunlight of those her last months on earth, and completing
the autobiography as desired by her Mother Prioress.
The novices and a lay-sister often at work in the garden
came continually, under numberless pretexts, to interrupt
her in her task. She welcomed each in turn with such
unfailing patience that at last Mére Agnés de Jésus was
amazed. Then Thérése disclosed the secret: “I am
writing,” she told her, “‘ on fraternal charity. Now is the
time to practise it. Oh, fraternal charity! It is every-
thing on this earth. We love God in the measure in which
we practise it.”

In order to have a correct idea of her teaching on love
of the neighbour, it is necessary to read Chapters [X and X
of her Histoire d’une Ame. Nothing could be more im-
pressive than the saint’s glowing words on the joy of self-
devotion to souls wounded and suffering; nothing which
better recalls the divine unction of St John, or St Paul’s
all-conquering energy. In fine, Thérése’s teaching on
fraternal charity can be summed up in one sentence:
“It is chief amongst virtues.”

From all this we can realize what admirable examples
she must have left in the monastery where her devoted-

253

254 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

ness to others had full scope. Let us simply note a few
incidents of these years which constituted a perpetual act
of charity.

The very effectual faith of our saint inspired her with
a mother’s love for souls, for every soul redeemed by our
Saviour’s blood. She called them ‘‘ her children,” and
laboured unceasingly ‘‘in order,” as she said, “‘ to earn
for them eternal life.’”” We shall note the chief character-
istics of her charity for souls in general before speaking
in detail of her mode of practising it with regard to her
Sisters in the cloister and those priests whom she strove
to aid in their ministry.

One day, when the community was engaged in washing,
a novice was walking leisurely towards the laundry, calmly
admiring the flowers in the garden. Sceur Thérése, who
followed with step more alert, soon overtook her, and
said with joyous animation: ‘‘ Is it thus people hasten
when they have children to provide for, when they have to
work for their livelihood ? Let us get quickly to our task,
for if we amuse ourselves, our children will die of hunger.”
The “children”? whom there was question of keeping
alive by force of sacrifice were none other, as may easily
be guessed, than abandoned souls.

It was natural that she who gave herself generously
to those unknown souls for love of Him who had re-
deemed them on Calvary should especially devote
herself to those who, delivered from earthly bonds and
assured of possessing in glory Him whom they had served
here, are nevertheless kept far from Him to satisfy divine
Justice for the relics of sin.

Scur Thérése manifested a tender and_ effectual
compassion for the souls in purgatory. She sought to
relieve them by every means in her power, especially
by gaining indulgences. With this end in view, she made
the Stations of the Cross several times a week. She
wished to persevere till death in reciting every day six

1 Summarium of 1919, p. 497, § 1342.

y CHARITY OF ST THERESE 255

Paters and Aves, a practice which she had been told was
very efficacious in relieving the poor souls, and when
during the latter part of her illness she was urged to
dispense herself, she begged that she might be left free,
saying: ‘‘ I can do nothing but this for the souls in purga-
tory, and it is so little.”

Very early she had made the “‘ heroic offering ”’ for the
dead, and placed in the Blessed Virgin’s hands all the
merits of each day to apply to them as she considered best.

But she had nothing so much at heart as the sancti-
fication of priests. She felt bound in duty to offer her
prayers, mortifications, and penances for those souls on
whose virtue depended the salvation of so many.

Even in convents, there are at times acts of charity
more difficult than prayer and penance. We have already
spoken of the self-renunciation imposed by community
life. Sceur Thérése experienced, as we know, these
interior struggles, especially in the beginning of her
religious life. Sensitive by nature, she was destined to
suffer more than others in this way. An arrow that
would scarce graze a thick skin buries itself deep in delicate
flesh. Great indeed must have been the young saint’s
strength of character to enable her to triumph, as she did,
over her natural tendencies. ‘‘One day,” says her
sister Céline, “in order to encourage me to overcome
personal antipathies, she made known to me that she
had long done violence to herself in this matter. ‘The
admission was a revelation to me, for she so perfectly
controlled herself that no effort was apparent, and I was
still more amazed when she told me the name of the
Sister who was the occasion of this daily struggle. In
fact I always saw the Servant of God so amiable and
obliging to this particular Sister, that I would have taken
her for her best friend.’”!

Thérése knew equally well how to keep in check her
natural sympathies, so that, in her relations with those

1 Summarium of 1919, p. 604, § 1754.

256 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

who most attracted her, everything was directed by
grace and subordinated to God’s good pleasure. She
had a tender affection for the novices so early entrusted
to her direction, as we shall see. But her dealings with
them were always spiritual. She took care to reprimand
them for every failing. ‘‘ I owe you the truth,” she said
to them, “‘ and the truth I will tell you until my death.’”*

With such dispositions, seeing God in everyone around
her, loving them for God alone and therefore solely with
a view to their good, she naturally on all occasions gave
them proof of that generous and deeply-rooted charity
of which her divine Master was both the principal object
and the inexhaustible source.

From the first, she loved her Mother Prioress with an
affection always proved by acts. Although the change-
able character of Mére Marie de Gonzague deterred her
once more from leaning on creatures, Thérése, never-
theless, ceased not to speak and act in favour of her
authority, so as to maintain submission and a good spirit
in the convent.

Certain admittedly brilliant qualities in this reverend
Mother did not conceal the defects in her character nor
the imperfections in her government. Our saint’s keen -
intellect perceived those defects even more clearly than
did others, but she understood also how much _ the
Prioress suffered from the silent reproach manifested at
times in the attitude of certain Sisters, and she strove,
as did none other, to heal those wounds. She studied to
show the poor Mother every tender consideration, to
console and even to enlighten her, so that Mére Marie
de Gonzague was able to proclaim from experience
the truth of those words of Holy Scripture: “‘ Truth
comes from the mouths of children.’’ The esteem of the
Prioress for the young saint was to go on increasing
until her last hour. Meditating a short time before her
death on God’s judgements, Mére Marie de Gonzague

1 Summarium of 1919, p. 498, § 1345.

CHARITY OF ST THERESE 257

declared in all humility: ‘‘I am sustained by hope in
spite of my faults, for I have my little Thérése to intercede
forme. Iam sure that I shall owe my salvation to her.’

Devoted as she was to her Mother Prioress, and pre-
occupied as well with the spiritual advancement of her
novices, Thérése took care that none of those under her
charge should let charity degenerate into an effeminate
affection. She feared the effect of that sympathetic
affection sometimes lavished blindly by an ingenuous
soul on a companion who is considered more amiable
or more fervent than the others. This had been her
attitude from the time she entered; nothing can better
exemplify it than the following episode related by Thérése
herself to Mére Marie de Gonzague in one of the memoirs
of her Histoire d'une Ame.

** On entering Carmel,” she writes, ‘‘ I found in the
novitiate a Sister eight years my senior. Despite the
difference in years, we became intimate companions.!
In order to favour affection which seemed to promise
fruits of virtue, we were given permission to confer
together on spiritual matters. I was charmed by my
dear companion’s innocence, her open and expansive
character. But, on the other hand, I was astonished
to notice how different her affection for you, Mother,
was from mine. On many other points, too, her behaviour
appeared to me regrettable. God, however, had already
taught me that there are souls for whom His mercy
wearies not of waiting, to whom He gives His light
little by little, and I guarded against anticipating His
own good time.

“Thinking, one day, over our permission to confer
together, in order, as written in our holy Constitutions,
‘that our hearts might be inflamed with greater love for
our Divine Spouse,’ I realized with sadness that our

1 It must be said in the interest of truth that, on Thérése’s
part, the intimacy proceeded solely from compassionate charity
towards this Sister who was by no means gifted.

17

258 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

converse did not tend towards the end desired, and I
saw clearly that it became necessary either to speak out
fearlessly or to give up altogether the conversations which
had begun to resemble those of friends in the world. I
besought Jesus to put gentle and convincing words on
my lips, or rather to speak Himself for me. He heard
my prayer, for ‘ those who look unto Him are enlightened,”
and ‘to the upright a light is risen in the darkness.”
I applied the first text to myself, the second to my com-
panion who certainly had an upright heart.

“When we next met to talk together, the poor little
Sister saw from the first that my manner was changed.
Her face flushed as she sat down beside me. Then,
pressing her to my heart, I tenderly expressed my thoughts
concerning her. I showed her in what true love consists,
and proved to her, that in loving her Mother Prioress with
mere natural affection, she was only loving herself. I
told her of the sacrifices that I had been obliged to make
in this matter at the commencement of my religious life,
and soon her tears mingled with mine. She humbly
admitted that she was wrong, recognized the truth of
what I said, and promised to begin a new life, asking me,
as a favour, always to warn her of her faults. From this
moment, our affection became altogether spiritual; in us
was realized that word of holy Scripture, ‘ A brother
that is helped by his brother is like a strong city.’ ’’

We know how faithfully Thérése maintained the greatest
reserve in her relations with the other members of her
family in the convent. It was, in truth, no common
thing to find four sisters in the same Carmel, to whom a
first cousin was soon to be added. In a community of
only twenty nuns, the above group could, humanly
speaking, assert a considerable amount of influence.
They could have formed a party in themselves if the

1 Ps, xxxiii 6. *s Pswexiea:.

rset xviii 19. Extract from l’Histoire d’une Ame, ch x,
p. 180.

CHARITY OF ST THERESE 259

“four sisters,” as they were called, had not been gifted
with sound judgement and a proper monastic spirit.

Thérése made superhuman efforts to maintain fraternal
union in the community, although her heart suffered
cruelly in consequence of the privations she imposed
on herself.

The dear saint seemed to make up for this constraint
by redoubling her charity towards the other members of
the community. We have already quoted more than one
characteristic incident in her humble life, showing with
what an excess of abnegation she gave herself to the service
of all. A young Sister relates certain details which she
had noted.

One day in winter she asked Thérése whether it were
better to go and help to rinse out the linen in cold water
(in the open air) or remain in the laundry for the washing
with hot water. “Oh,” she replied, ‘‘ it is not difficult
to judge. When it costs you something to go to the cold
water washing, that is a sign that it must cost others
something too; go then on that account. If, on the
contrary, the day is hot, remain rather in the laundry,
thus allowing some one else to enjoy the coolness of the
water outside. In choosing the worst, we practise
mortification for ourselves and charity towards others.”

She wished to see her novices go regularly to recreation,
not so much for their own enjoyment as to give pleasure
to others. ‘‘ There, more perhaps than anywhere else,”
she would say, “‘ do we find opportunity for renunciation
in order to practise charity. For instance, if some one
relates a tedious story, let us listen with every sign of
interest, just to please her. Let us try to make ourselves
agreeable to all. Success therein, it is true, can be attained
only by constant renunciation.”

Cheerfulness, so important but oftentimes so difficult
in community life, had become habitual with Thérése,
almost, in fact, second nature, through the fervour and
force of her charity. When she was absent from recrea-

260 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

tion, the nuns expressed their disappointment: ‘‘ Sceur
Thérése is not here; we shall have no laugh to-day.”

The interior peace of her soul it was which thus shone
in her countenance, leading others to smile with her.
‘“‘T am always gladsome and content,”’ she said, “‘ even
in my sufferings. We read in the lives of some saints
that they were grave and austere, even at recreation...
I am more attracted by Théophane Vénard who was ever
and everywhere joyous.”

All Thérése’s counsels to others were practised by
herself with a perfection which no obstacle could impede.
Should some service be asked of her which disturbed her
at her work or forced her to interrupt an interesting
occupation, she agreed with as gracious a smile as if she
herself were the debtor. Should a Sister come to trouble
her even at an inopportune moment, when she was deep
in some arduous task, far from complaining, she left
all there, to give the desired help which, often enough,
the Sister in question, spoiled by so much charity and good
will, came to regard as merely her due.

On the approach of the Prioress’s feast, some of the
Sisters brought divers little objects to Thérése in order
that, decorated by her brush, they might become acceptable
little presents. It sometimes happened that a certain
Sister, considering her gift less well finished than that of
another, found fault with it instead of thanking Thérése.
But the improvised artist always consoled herself with
such reflections as this: ‘‘ When we work for God, we
expect no thanks from creatures, and these reproaches
cannot rob us of our peace.” She even carried con-
descendence so far as to paint something that was ridiculous
and not in good taste for the satisfaction of one who
oftentimes mortified her. For her, too, she executed
some little paintings a few months before her death, and
it was in her service that she used her brush for the last
time.

1 Summarium of 1919, p. 565, § 1562.

7

CHARITY OF ST THERESE 261

For two .or three years, Thérése worked with an
invalided Sister whose wearisome whims and fancies
exercised the patience of the whole community. A
novice who one day took Thérése’s place, irritated by
the Sister’s remarks, retorted with some vivacity, thereby
drawing from her complaint and protestation. ‘‘ Never,
Sister,” said the astonished nun, ‘“‘ has Sceur Thérése
de l’Enfant Jésus spoken to me as you have done.”

These words were repeated by the guilty novice to our
saint. “‘ Oh,” she replied, “‘ be very kind and gentle
to this poor Sister; she is ill. And then, it is an act of
charity as well as an exercise of patience to let her believe
that she interests us.... We must guard against
allowing our irritation to get the better of us; rather let
us calm our souls by charitable thoughts. After that,
the practice of patience comes naturally.”

Her example in this matter during long periods of
her monotonous life as a recluse never belied her words.
“For a long time,” she says, “‘ I was near a Sister who
unceasingly rattled her beads or some other thing during
prayer. Perhaps I was the only one to hear it, for my
sense of hearing is extremely keen; but it would be im-
possible to tell how much this noise disturbed me. I
would have liked to turn and look at the offender in order
to make her cease. In my heart, however, IJ felt that it
was better to suffer patiently for God’s sake, and also to
avoid giving her pain. I therefore remained quite still,
though, at times, perspiration broke out on my forehead
and I was obliged to make simply a prayer of suffering.
At last I strove to suffer in peace and joy at least within
my soul. Then I tried to love this disagreeable little
noise. Instead of endeavouring not to hear it—a thing
impossible—I listened attentively to it as if it were a
delightful concert. My prayer, which was not ‘ the prayer
of quiet,’ passed in offering this concert to Jesus.”

1 Summarium of 1919, p. 501, § 1348.
2 Histoire d’une Ame, ch. x, p. 195

262 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

The following exemplifies a far greater measure of
abnegation than is ordinarily met with. We shall give
it in the words of Sceur Généviéve de la Sainte Face.
‘““'Thérése’s charity extended, one might almost say,
even to the extent of sacrificing her spiritual interests.
Having found a book which was doing her a great deal
of good, I have seen her pass it on to the other Sisters
without having read it through, with the result that in
spite of her desire to finish it, she was never able to do so.
She sacrificed in the interests of others her personal
tastes, even as regarded spiritual matters. For instance,
in order to stimulate virtue in a companion of the novitiate
—a lay-sister whom she was trying to help—she pretended
to have need herself of a complicated system of “ prac-
tices’ suited to this Sister, while in reality all such
methods were quite contrary to Thérése’s own tastes.
She wrote to me on July 23, 1893, when I was still in the
world: “ I am obliged to have ‘ practice beads.”! Ihave
adopted this out of charity for one of the Sisters, but feel
myself as though entangled in the meshes of a net.”
Nevertheless, she adapted herself with such good grace to
the spiritual level of her companion as to persuade the
latter that she, Thérése, was also benefited by this
method.?

When unable to bring some comfort by words to a
soul under trial, she compensated for that by other
exercises of charity, which, no doubt, were not less
pleasing to God nor less efficacious. ‘‘ When I see,”
she said, “ that one of the Sisters is suffering, and I have
not permission to speak, I ask Jesus to console her Him-
self.”” And she urged others to follow her. example,
telling them that it was a sure means of pleasing Our
Lord.

When doing work in common, she placed herself by
preference near those who appeared somewhat sad.

1 Beads sometimes used for counting acts of virtue.
2 Summarium of 1919, p. 373, § 951.

CHARITY OF ST THERESE 263

As the rule forbade her to speak, she sought to give them
at least an affectionate smile, and seized every opportunity
of rendering them a service.

* ¥ * * *

We have up to the present studied Sceur Thérése in
ordinary relations with her companions. We shall now
see her at work in her difficult and delicate duty as assistant
mistress of novices, which was allotted to her three years
after her profession. In February, 1893, Mére Marie
de Gonzague had completed the term of office as Prioress
allowed by the rule, and the nuns elected Thérése’s sister,
Pauline (Sceur Agnes de Jésus), to succeed her. What
was to become of Mére Gonzague, whose past years of
Superiority and experience, and also certain material
services rendered to the monastery, seemed to mark out as
one destined always to rule? ‘The new Prioress met the
difficulty by appointing her mistress of novices. As that
duty, however, required an evenness of disposition,
sometimes lacking in the former Prioress, Mére Agnés
de Jésus decided on giving her an assistant, and for this
office she chose Thérése, who was still in the novitiate.

With the consent of Mére Marie de Gonzague, our
saint was charged from the very first with watching over
her companions, two lay-sisters whose formation required
special attention and unremitting devotedness. In reality,
Thérése was invested with the duties of novice-mistress
without the corresponding title. A most difficult charge,
for one could not but expect that the character of Mere
Marie de Gonzague, with its tendency to doubt and to
take offence, would be found more than once in conflict
with the views of her assistant.

The situation became more serious still when, after
three years, the former Prioress was again placed at the
head of the community, and wished to retain, together
with the direction of the monastery, the functions of
novice-mistress, leaving still to Thérése the care of

264. ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

forming, under her control, the young religious.
Through love for her convent, and through obedience
as well as love for souls, the young saint submitted
to all.

She commenced by giving the novices an admirable
example of humility. When her own term of probation
was completed, she was entitled to rank among the
professed nuns of the chapter, but at her own request she
remained in the novitiate that she might thus be more on
an equality with her companions, who soon reached the
number of five. Thérése was to retain this charge, as
also this humble rank, until her death.

It will not be out of place to give a few maxims and
certain acts of her spiritual direction. ‘Therein we shall
see charity shine forth side by side with watchfulness,
prudence and firmness, proceeding, as did every movement
of her soul, from divine love. Never did she permit
herself to give advice or reprimand to her novices save
with a view to their perfection or to gain more love for
her Saviour.

Before entering, so young, on the difficult duty of guiding
souls, Thérése’s first care was to turn for help to God,
the Father of lights and dispenser of every perfect
gift. She has told with her usual grace how she com-
pelled the Holy Spirit to guide her in this work
so disproportioned, humanly speaking, to her natural
abilities.

* As soon,” she writes, ‘‘ as I entered into the sanc-
tuary of souls, I realized immediately that the task was
beyond my strength, and, quickly throwing myself
into the arms of the good God, I followed the example
of a child who, terrified by some fear, hides its head
on its father’s shoulder. ‘ My Saviour,’ I said, ‘ Thou
seest that I cannot feed Thy children. If Thou willest
to give to each what she needs, then fill my little hand,
and I, without leaving Thy arms, without even turning
my head, shall distribute Thy treasures to each soul that

CHARITY OF ST THERESE 265

comes to me for food. When she finds it according to
her taste, then, not to me but to Thee will she be in-
debted. If, on the contrary, she complains, and finds
bitter the nourishment offered, that will not disturb my
peace; I shall try to persuade her that it comes from Thee,
and carefully avoid seeking any other for her.’

“Thus convinced that I could do nothing by myself,
my task appeared simplified. I strove solely to unite
myself interiorly more and more to God, knowing that the
rest would be given me abundantly. Never has my trust
been deceived. As often as nutriment has been required
for the souls entrusted to me, I have found my hand
full.”

And in self-distrust inspired by faith, the humble
nun, addressing her Prioress, adds: “‘ I tell you, Mother,
that had I acted otherwise, had I relied on my own
strength, I should very soon have had to lay down my
arms.’

If Thérése de l’Enfant Jésus felt so imperious a need
of help from above, this arose from the fact that with her
innate fineness of perception and supernatural intuition
she had quickly realized the formidable complexity of the
task imposed upon her. “From afar,” she says, “it
seems easy to do good to souls, to make them love God
more, to mould them according to our own ideas and
views. But coming closer, we find, on the contrary,
that to do good without God’s help is as impossible as to
bring the sun back during the night. We feel that we
must absolutely forget our own tastes, our personal ideas,
and guide souls, not by our way, but by the particular
path which Jesus points out. And this is not the chief
difficulty. What costs me most is being obliged to
observe every fault and slightest imperfection, and to
wage deadly war against them.’”

These concluding words give an indication of her
energy in directing her novices, energy inspired, like

1 Histoire d’une Ame, ch. x, p. 183. 2 Ibid.

266 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

everything else, by love for God and souls, that love,
“prudent, strong, prompt, vigilant, and discreet,”
spoken of in the Imitation, which will henceforth govern
all her spiritual activity.

Firmness of direction was called for especially in the
beginning, for the first novices confided to her care had
need of vigilant and thorough formation if they were to
become true Carmelites. In no way discouraged by their
lack of spiritual culture, she bravely made war on their
failings. She reprimanded them, not harshly, but with
precision and, at times, with an innocent raillery which
emphasized the unseemliness, futility, or absurdity
of certain acts and gestures. Her severity in the matter
of sensible affections we know; she combated with no
less energy the tendency to pity themselves and to draw
attention to their slight sufferings. She wished the young
Sisters to act in all things with vigour, without self-
indulgence or complaint. ‘‘ In a community,” she said
to them, ‘‘ each one should try to be self-sufficing, and
not seek services that she can well do without.” And
again: ‘‘ In order to guard against asking dispensations or
permissions except as a last resource, say to yourselves:
‘Suppose everyone were to do the same....’ The
answer you must give will show you immediately what
disorder would result, and will indicate the golden mean
that you should follow.’”

She volunteered, moreover, to justify according to
principles of faith what might appear austere in her mode
of action. ‘‘ Our kindness,’ she confided to Mére
Agnés de Jésus, “ should never degenerate into weakness.
When we have given a just reprimand, we ought to leave
things as they are and not yield to trouble of mind for
having caused pain or tears. If we run to offer consola-
tion to her whom we have corrected, we do more harm
than good. By leaving her to herself, she is led to expect

1 Book ITI, ch. v, 5, 7.
2 Summarium of 1919, p. 381, § 972.

CHARITY OF ST THERESE 267

nothing from creatures and to turn to God, to recognize
her faults and to humble herself.’”!

To these principles which, from the beginning, she made
the law of her spiritual government, she adhered faith-
fully to the end, and, in her last conversations with her
sister who had already held the office of Prioress, she
bequeathed them to her as a sort of last testament. ‘In
the work of spiritual direction,” she said, “‘ let us never
pass things over for the sake of our own ease. Let us
fight unceasingly, even if we have no hope of gaining a
victory. What matter about success? If we find a
soul not well-disposed, let us not say: ‘ Nothing can be
done for her. She does not understand. She will have
to be abandoned; I can do no more.’ Oh, it is cowardly
to speak thus. Our duty must be done until the end.’”?

And, on an occasion which called for energy, she said:
*‘ T have striven hard; I am indeed fatigued, but I am
not afraid of the fight; I am as much at peace there as
when at prayer. It is God’s will that I should fight until
death. With souls under our direction we must speak
truthfully what we think. I always act thus. If I am
not liked, what matter! Besides, I do not seek for that.
Let them not come to me if they do not wish to be told
the entire truth.’

Such, then, were the desires and demands of the tender,
humble, and affectionate Sceur Thérése.

She well knew, besides, that recommendations and
counsels have no chance of being obeyed unless she who
receives the counsel can feel that it springs from a com-
passionate and maternal heart which suffers for the pain
inflicted on a beloved soul. ‘‘ In order that a reprimand
bear fruit,” she affirms, “‘ it must cost in the giving; the
heart must be free from the least shade of passion.’”4

1 Conseils et Souvenirs (Appendix to the Histoire dune
Ame), p. 298.

2 Cited in l’Esprit de Ste Thérése de ? Enfant Fésus, p. 98.

3 Joid., p. 99.

4 Conseils et Souvenirs, p. 298.

268 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

In the person charged with the direction of others, there
must also be clearly shown an entire detachment from
self, and an all-absorbing desire to benefit, even at her
own expense, the soul whose tendencies she opposes.
Scur Thérése de l’Enfant Jésus knew this, she who
revealed so candidly to her Mother Prioress her plans
of government. ‘‘ When I speak to a novice,” she told
her, ‘“‘I am careful to mortify myself. I avoid asking
her questions which would gratify my curiosity. If,
having commenced to talk on an interesting subject, she
passes on to some other, irksome to me, I guard against
calling her attention to this interruption, for it seems to
me that one can do no good by’self-seeking.’”

Consistently until the end, the saintly mistress asked
as a grace from her Saviour that she might not be loved
with mere human affection. Her prayer was heard, for
spiritual affection alone entered into the novices’ relations
with her. But she was loved, loved even to veneration,
and by those souls, too, who in the beginning had tried
her patience, and of whom she succeeded in making excel-
lent religious. She was esteemed for her uprightness, for
her constant demand for truth,’ for her entire abnegation

1 Histoire d’une Ame, ch. x, p. 184.

* She wished the truth for the novices under her charge but
still more for herself. She was particularly glad when some
postulant or novice addressed a reproach to her. She saw in it
a salutary corrective to the praise which came from others.

** At times,” she writes, ‘‘ I long to hear some other thing
than praise; my soul tires of food too sweet. Then Jesus
provides that a wholesome little salad shall be served to me,
highly spiced and with plenty of vinegar; nothing is wanting
except oil, but its absence adds a new savour. This salad is
presented to me by the novices just when I least expect it.
God withdraws the veil which hides my imperfections from
them, and my dear little Sisters, seeing the reality, no longer
find me quite to their taste. With a simplicity that charms
me, they tell me of the struggles I cost them, and what, in me,
they find displeasing. In fine, they are as unrestrained as if
it were question of some one else, for they know that by so
acting they give me great pleasure.

CHARITY OF ST THERESE 269

of self, which permitted her to exercise always discerning
and inexhaustible charity. Such, indeed, was the spiritual
enlightenment of this nun of twenty years that others,
grown old in the practices of the life in the Carmel, came
to her to ask furtively the secret of a higher perfection and
a more rapid advancement.

Her first novices, who found some difficulty in under-
standing her, were soon followed by souls more open and
more generous by nature, who did not hesitate to go
forward gladly on the path she pointed out to them.
This marked the beginning of a period of special fervour
in the Carmel of Lisieux which was never afterwards
to know relaxation.

Such success, however, cannot be fully accounted for
by the energy or prudence of the saintly novice-mistress.
From a heart “strong as the diamond, but more tender
than a mother’s heart,’”’ came her exhortations to her
novices. She treated them with such delicate con-
siderateness as to draw tears of emotion and gratitude.
Here is the testimony of one who profited most by
Thérése’s teaching:

** Sceeur Thérése de l’Enfant Jésus, as the rule enjoins,
never raised her eyes in the refectory. I had much difficulty

“Tt is indeed more than a pleasure, it is a delicious feast

which fills my soul with joy. How can anything so displeasing
to nature give such happiness? Without the experience, I
could not believe it possible.
- **One day, when I had an ardent desire for humiliation, a
young postulant happened so fully to satisfy my longing that
the thought of Semei reproaching David came to mind, and
to myself I repeated with the holy king: ‘ Yes, it is indeed the
Lord who has bidden him to say all these things.’*

“Thus does the good God take care of me. He cannot
always offer me the strength-giving bread of exterior humilia-
tion; but from time to time He permits me to eat the crumbs
that fall from the table of the children. Oh, how great is His
Exency a

* Cf. II Reg. xvi, 10. t Histoire d’une Ame, ch. x, p 190.

270 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

on this very point, so she composed the following prayer,
which was for me a revelation of her humility, because she
asked for herself a grace that was wanting to me alone:
‘ Jesus, Thy two little spouses resolve to keep their eyes
lowered in the refectory, in order to honour and imitate
the example given by Thee when standing before Herod.
Though this impious prince mocked Thee, O Infinite
Beauty, no complaint passed Thy lips; Thou didst not
deign even to fix upon him Thy adorable eyes. O Divine
Jesus, Herod did certainly not deserve to be looked on by
Thee. But we who are Thy spouses, we long to make
Thee turn Thy Divine eyes towards us. We ask Thee
to reward us by this look of love each time we restrain
our desire to raise our eyes. We even pray Thee not to
deprive us of Thy tender glance when we fail, for most
sincerely shall we humble ourselves before Thee.’ ””*

To encourage her novices to punctuality or other
mortification, she sometimes did not hesitate to cite her
own example, doing so, however, with a candour which
excluded every suspicion of vanity. ‘To a young Sister,
whom she considered reliable and sensible, she said:
“We must mortify ourselves when the bell rings, or
when a knock comes to our door, and not delay even to
put in another stitch® before answering. I have practised
this, and I assure you it is a source of peace.” Later on,
when the same novice hastened to perform some urgent
duty, she commended her heartily for this act of generosity.
““ At the moment of death,” she said, ‘‘ you will be happy
to find this before you. You have just done a more
glorious act than if by some skilful measures you had
obtained the good will of the government for the religious
communities, and all France hailed you as a second
Judith.’

But her great lever for raising souls was the considera-
tion of the love and mercy of Jesus. By recalling un-

1 Conseils et Souvenirs, p. 267. 2 A stitch of sewing.
3 Conseils et Souvenirs, p. 275.

ee

{

CHARITY OF ST THERESE 270

ceasingly to her novices the Saviour’s adorable attributes,
she almost always succeeded in renewing their courage,
stimulating their good will and strengthening their love
and hope of perfection.

A young nun asked her one day if our Saviour was not

displeased at seeing all her failures and imperfections.

“‘ Be reassured,” Thérése said to her. ‘‘ He whom you
have taken for spouse has truly every perfection that could
be desired; but, if I may dare to say it, He has at the same
time one great infirmity, that is, blindness, and there is
one science He does not know, namely arithmetic. ‘These
two great defects, which would indeed be grave in an
earthly spouse, make ours infinitely lovable. If He
saw everything clearly and knew how to reckon, think
you that, confronted with all our sins, He would not cast
us back again into nothingness? But no; His love for us
renders Him absolutely blind. For behold, if the greatest
sinner on earth, repenting on his death-bed, expires with
an act of love on his lips, immediately, without counting
on the one hand the numberless graces abused by the
unfortunate man, and on the other all his crimes, He
considers and takes into account only this last prayer,
and receives Him at once into the arms of His mercy.
But in order to render Him thus blind, to prevent Him
from making the smallest calculation, we must know
how to gain His heart; this is the point where He is
defericeless. .. .”*

She profited by every incident to strengthen the
novices’ filial trust in God whose joy it is to pardon.
One of them, having grieved her, came to ask pardon.
With evident emotion Thérése replied: ‘‘ If you but knew
what I feel! I have never before understood so well
the love with which Jesus receives us when we ask His
pardon for a fault. If I, His poor little creature, feel so
much tenderness towards you the moment you return to
me, what must pass in the Heart of the good God when

1 Conseils et Souvenirs, p. 280.

272 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

we return to Him!... Yes, He will undoubtedly
forget more quickly than I have just done all our falls,
never more to recall them. . . . He will do more; He
will love us even better than before our fault.’”#

In order to preserve souls from the attraction of created
things, and to detach them from those insignificant trifles
which custom could easily make dear to cloistered nuns,
the wise novice-mistress related charming incidents, not
hesitating to bring herself sometimes into the picture
with her habitual simplicity. The following occurrence
reveals the persistence of her love for sylvan beauty, and
at the same time the energy with which she mortified
herself... . ‘One Sunday,” she said, ‘‘I set out in
gladness, going towards the chestnut walk. It was
springtime. I wished to enjoy the beauties of nature.
Alas ! what a cruel deception; my dear chestnut trees had
been shorn of their branches. ‘Those branches, already
laden with verdant budding shoots, were there, lying on
the ground. ... It went to my heart to behold this
disaster, and to reflect that I must wait three years to
see it repaired. My grief, however, did not last long.
‘If I were in another monastery,’ thought I, ‘ what would
it matter to me if the chestnut trees of the Lisieux Carmel
were entirely cut down? I will trouble myself no more
about passing things, my Well-Beloved shall take the
place of all else for me. I will ever walk to and fro in
the groves of His love, groves which none can touch.’ ”?

To detach souls from exterior things was the primary
and fundamental work in Carmel as in other convents.
It was also necessary, and a more ungrateful task, to
detach them from their own judgement. ‘To attain this
end, Thérése knew how to use with good effect a little
gentle irony. A novice boasted in her presence of
having been able “to make her own opinion prevail.”
“‘ Ah,” replied the saint, ““ you wish then to push your-
self forward. ... As for me, I take good care to avoid

1 Conseils et Souvenirs, p. 280. 2 Ibid., p. 284.

CHARITY OF ST THERESE 273

that réle. I prefer to repeat with our Saviour: ‘I seek
not my own glory ; there is one that seeketh and judgeth.’

In her little group of novices, each soul had its own
special trials. Some experienced habitual and sometimes
exaggerated fear of God’s judgements; others passed like
herself through long periods of aridity. Now it was
question of some inordinate attachment that had to be
fought against, now a natural aversion—so hurtful in
community life—that must be overcome. The humble
novice-mistress had even to bear at times the mortifying
and unjust expression of discontent against herself or her
direction.

To all these souls desirous of progress, but at times
disquieted, troubled or prejudiced, she gave herself un-
sparingly at all times, until her strength was finally
exhausted. The bell, calling her to some community
exercise, alone could interrupt her tender and consoling
exhortations. ‘True, she ever obeyed this signal instantly ;
but then, she prayed God Himself to help the soul that
had come to her for consolation, and often her prayer
was answered in a marvellous way.

“ Before my profession,” a religious tells us, “‘ I received
through my saintly mistress a very special grace. We had
been all day at the washing and I was extremely tired,
overwhelmed too with interior trials. In the evening
before mental prayer, I wished to speak to her, but she
replied: ‘ There is the bell for Prayer; I have no time
now to console you. Besides, I see plainly that my
efforts would be useless; God wills you to suffer alone
for the moment.’

** I followed her to prayer in a state of such discourage-
ment that for the first time I began to doubt my vocation.
‘ Never shall I have sufficient strength to be a Carmelite,’
I said to myself, ‘ the life is too hard for me.’

“TI had knelt for a few moments, in strife, a prey to
these sad reflections, when suddenly, without having
1 Cited in the l’Esprit de Ste Thérése de l’ Enfant pas Pp. 92.

| I

b

274, ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

uttered a prayer, without having even wished for peace, I
experienced an instantaneous and extraordinary change
in my soul. I could not recognize myself as the same
person; my vocation appeared beautiful and lovable; I
saw the charm and the immense worth of suffering.
Every privation and fatigue in the religious life seemed
to me infinitely preferable to worldly satisfactions. In a
word, I came out from prayer absolutely transformed.

“On the following day, I told Sceur Thérése de 1’Enfant
Jésus what had happened, and, as her emotion was
evident, I asked her the reason. ‘“‘ Ah, how good God
is,’ she replied. ‘‘ Yesterday evening I had such pity
for you, that for some time at the beginning of Prayer
I never ceased praying for you, asking Our Saviour to
console you, to change the state of your soul, and to show
you the worth of suffering. He has heard me.”?

Thus did the dear saint labour for the sanctification
of her novices even at times when apparently she could
not occupy herself with them.

The young novice-mistress’s disinterestedness far sur-
passed any ordinary measure. Not content with re-
nouncing every temporal possession or advantage, she
surrendered to other souls her spiritual riches, usually
so dear and precious even to those capable of sincere
generosity. What more touching than the following
avowal of 'Thérése, possessed, like St Paul, by the desire
not only to devote herself to souls, but to be despoiled
and consumed in their interest? ‘‘ If I had been rich,
I could not have beheld a poor man without giving him
to eat. It is thus, too, in my spiritual life. According
as I gain anything, I know there are souls on the point
of falling into hell. Then I give them my treasures, and
have never yet had a moment when I could say: ‘ Now
I am going to work for myself.’ ”

Such liberality did not confine itself within the limits
of Carmel. We know the tender regard which Thérése

1 Conseils et Souvenirs, p. 291.

CHARITY OF ST THERESE 275

de l’Enfant Jésus ever retained for the members of her
family remaining in the world, even after Céline had
entered the convent. While waiting until her cousin,
Marie Guérin, should come to join her in Carmel, she
saw her regularly in the parlour, also her uncle and aunt,
her cousin Jeanne, now become Madame La Néele, and
the latter’s husband, as fervent in his religion as he was
charitable in his practice as doctor. Although at these
meetings, the saintly child kept herself ever in the back-
ground, leaving the conversation to her sisters, her reliable
judgement and spirit of justice were so appreciated, that
all looked eagerly to her, to obtain wise counsel or effi-
cacious consolation. She always endeavoured to restore
peace to afflicted hearts. Should she fail in this, she
turned for help to the inexhaustible Source of all joy,
and thus did she arrive at restoring calm to souls, as is
shown by the following avowal:—

“ Formerly,” she writes, “if one of my family was in
some trouble, whom, during their visit, I had not suc-
ceeded in consoling, I went from the parlour with an
aching heart. But Jesus soon made me understand
that I was incapable of pacifying a soul. From then,
onward, I never felt downhearted when they went away
sad. I confided to the good God the sufferings of those
dear to me, and felt convinced that I was heard. Then,
at our next meeting, I would find out that so it was, in
truth.”

Thérése’s charity extended even to those who were
admitted within the cloister to carry out repairs or other
work. Unable to speak to these poor workers to exhort
them to piety, she contrived that they should at least
carry away with them a medal of the Blessed Virgin
carefully concealed in their clothing. In a word, far
beyond the bounds of her convent, her family and native
province, Thérése’s compassionate love went out to
every soul that had need of prayer, sacrifice, or pardon.

1 Conseils et Souvenirs, p. 298.

276 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

This discreet, ingenuous, and active charity, visibly
radiating from the love which ruled her whole life, the
attraction of a soul at once recollected and expansive,
the reflection of spotless innocence that shone from her
whole being, all this joined to natural gifts gave her an
exterior charm which even strangers were forced to
recognize.

From contemporary information, we are enabled to
give the following picture of the saint: “‘ She was tall of
stature and slight, with golden hair and grey-blue eyes,
eyebrows very slightly arched, a small mouth, refined
and regular features. Her face, fair as a lily, was well
proportioned, ever bearing the imprint of sweet serenity
and celestial peace. Her every movement was full of
dignity as well as simplicity and grace.””?

* * * * *

Her great heart was unlimited in its tenderness, but
certain spiritual afflictions made special demand on her
pity. They were those of the unfortunate tribes and
peoples living apparently abandoned by God and man
in the depths of savage solitudes, in lands as vet closed
to the Gospel.

The desire to labour more generously for the salvation
of infidels had strongly attracted her to the Carmel of
Hanoi. ‘The same inclination, together with her old and
ardent desire to participate in the priestly apostolate,

1 Appendix to the Histoire d’une Ame, p. 596: After a minute
examination of the several photographic negatives preserved in
the archives of the Lisieux Carmel, the Ecclesiastical Tribunal
set up by Mgr. Lemonnier to pronounce on the exactitude of
these photographs of Sceur Thérése de |’Enfant Jésus, formu-
lated in 1915 the following decision:

“The portrait en buste, the frontispiece of the large edition
of the Histoire d’une Ame, presents the best idea of the ex-
pression of St Thérése de l’Enfant Jésus, by a most conscientious
and very carefully studied synthesis of the different photographs
of the saint.”

CHARITY OF ST THERESE any

made her towards the end of her life join in a bond of
spiritual fraternity with two missionaries. One of these
had been assigned to a dangerous mission in pagan China,
the other to the bush-district in Central Africa.

The first, Adolphe-Jean Roulland,! became acquainted
with the young saint in 1896. He had just been ordained
at the Foreign Missions’ Seminary. Before leaving
France, to which he had then no hope of returning, he
vetitioned the Carmel of Lisieux through his compatriot,
Pére Norbert of the Premonstratensians of Mondaye,
that one of the community might be charged to pray
very specially for him and his missions. Sceur Thérése
de l’Enfant Jésus was chosen for this by Mére Marie
de Gonzague. The young priest came to celebrate Mass
in the convent, and both before and after the holy Sacri-
fice, was able to speak in the parlour with the Carmelite
who undertook to share his immolation.

What was the subject-matter of their conversation ?
The modest reserve of both, no doubt, did not permit
prolonged confidences. ‘Thérése waited until writing
later to her spiritual brother, to explain that their meeting
was an answer from Heaven to a prayer addressed to
God on the day of her profession. Alluding no doubt
to a confidence of the priest, she wrote to him: “ On
September 8, '1890, your missionary vocation was saved
by Mary, Queen of apostles and martyrs. On that very
day, a little Carmelite became spouse of the King of
heaven. Her one aim was to save souls, above all, souls
of apostles. From Jesus, her divine Spouse, she asked
particularly an apostolic soul. Debarred from becoming
a priest, she desired that some priest should receive in

1 Pére Roulland was not the first missionary, in the order of
time, who was given as spiritual brother to Thérése. His
correspondence with her was less frequent, but no less edifying
than that of R. P. Belliére who was the first recommended to
her prayers. We shall have to speak of him more at length
lateron. Forthis reason, we give first place to the facts relating
to R. P. Roulland.

278 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

her stead the Saviour’s graces and that he should have
aspirations and desires like hers. You know the un-
worthy Carmelite who thus prayed. Do you not think,
as I do, that our spiritual union, confirmed on your
ordination day, began on 8th September? I believed I
should never meet, except in heaven, the apostle I had
asked of Jesus. This well-beloved Saviour, lifting a
little the mysterious veil which hides the secrets of
eternity, has deigned to give me, even in exile, the con-
solation of knowing the brother of my soul, and of work-
ing with him for the salvation of poor infidels.”

The missionary set out for his district of Su-Tchuen,
and not for a single day did Thérése forget the duty
she had accepted of helping in the work of ransoming
souls. But she had reached the term of her earthly
career. She was only able to write six letters to the
apostle whose generous and intrepid helper she had
become. How intense the fervour that runs through
these lines; with what ardour she must have fired the
priest’s brave heart. Before Pére Roulland’s departure,
she obtained his promise to address this petition each
morning to the Almighty: “My God, permit Sceur
Thérése to gain souls to Thy love.”

When on the point of leaving France, he received this
note from her: “I am truly happy to work with you
for the salvation of souls. For this end am I a Carmelite.
Unable to become actually a missionary, I have longed
to be one by love and penance. . . . Ask Jesus in your
next Mass to inflame me with the fire of His love, so
that I may then help you to enkindle that flame in other
hearts.”

When the young priest had set out on his journey, he
appreciated more than ever the generosity of the soul
which had devoted itself to his needs. ‘‘ I should wish,”
she wrote, “that my brother might always have the

1 Letter of November 1, 1896.
2 Summarium of 1979, p. 617, § 1918.

CHARITY OF ST THERESE 279

consolations, and I the trials. This is perhaps egoistic;
but no, for my only arms are love and suffering united.”
And again: “ I would be most happy to work and suffer
long for Jesus; but I ask Him to please Himself in all
that regards me, that is to say, not to heed my desires,
whether of loving Him in suffering, or of going to enjoy
Him in heaven.’

But she had a presentiment that the time of the eternal
nuptials was near. ‘This happy expectation extinguished
neither her ardour nor her hopes. On March 19, 1897,
she wrote further to the missionary: “‘ I sincerely hope
that, when I quit this exile, you will not forget your
promise to pray for me. I do not desire that you should
ask God to deliver me from the flames of purgatory.
St Teresa said to her daughters when asking them to
pray for her: ‘ What matters it to me to remain in pur-
gatory till the end of the world, if, by my prayers I save
a single soul. . . .’ These words find echo in my heart;
I long to save souls and to forget self for them. I want
to save them even after my death. ‘Therefore, I would
wish you to say then a prayer which will ever be fruitful.
‘My God, permit my sister still to make 'Thee loved.’ ’””

Four months later, 'Thérése felt that the help she could
give while here below was about to end, but she assures
her spiritual brother that her aid to him from above is
on the eve of commencing. “TI shall be of much more
assistance to you in heaven than on earth.... You
will thank the Saviour for giving me means of helping
you more efficaciously in your apostolic work. I quite
count on not remaining inactive up there. My desire
is to labour still for the Church and souls. I ask this
of the good God, and I am certain He will hear me.”*

Then comes the last farewell and final testament of
the nun to the priest who continued to labour on a far-off

1 Letters of July 30, 1896, and of March 19, 1897.
2 Summarium of 1919, p. 648, § 1920.
3 Letter of July 14, 1897.

280 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

shore. ‘On the eve of appearing before God, I under-
stand more than ever that there is but one thing necessary,
to work for Him alone, not doing anything for oneself or
creatures. Jesus wants to possess your heart completely;
for that, you must suffer a great deal. ... But then,
what joy will inundate your soul when you reach the
happy moment of your entrance into heaven. ... Ido
not die, I enter into life . . .; everything that here below
I cannot tell you, I will make you fully understand from
Heaven above.’”?

A few weeks later, the saint had finished her earthly
task; once received into the arms of God she devoted
herself to the Christians of China to whom Pére Roulland
had given his life.?

Another missionary had been given as spiritual brother
to Thérése. ‘The two last years of her life were hallowed
by an interchange of prayers and mutual encouragement
with a young cleric of the Society of the White Fathers,
who owed to her influence his rapid advancement in the
way of perfection.

This correspondence will repay examination here.
The dear saint has written nothing more impressive than
these letters; their exquisite simplicity recalls the sub-
lime conferences of St Scholastica and St Benedict.
Abbé Belliere was still at the Seminary and had not yet
received the Subdiaconate, when Mére Agnés de Jésus,
then Prioress, assigned him Thérése as spiritual helper.
He was a young man of twenty-one, full of ardour and
enthusiasm for the evangelization of infidel Africa, but
at times overwhelmed with grief at the thought of quitting
his family for endless exile. Sceur Thérése de l’Enfant

1 Letter of August 14, 1897.

2 Pére Roulland spent twelve years in China, and was then
recalled to the Foreign Missions’ Seminary to take up the office
of Procurator to the Society. He has lately been sent with some
companions to Dormans (Marne) to serve the ‘‘ Souvenir ”
chapel built in memory of the battle of the Marne.

CHARITY OF ST THERESE 281

Jésus, having long before made a like sacrifice, and having
lived for several years in an austere Carmel, was able to
assume in his regard, sometimes at least, the rdle of coun-
sellor. She accepted this duty with a confidence inspired
by faith. She exercised it with an impressive and affec-
tionate simplicity which was destined to unite these two
valiant souls for several months in the charity of Christ.
The correspondence commenced in October, 1896,
when Abbé Belliére, tortured by the thought of his ap-
proaching departure, asked Thérése to pray for his
“mother.” The Carmelite’s tone is dignified, com-
passionate and pre-eminently religious. ‘‘ Monsieur
VAbbé, your part is in truth noble, since the Saviour
has chosen it for you, since He too has touched with His
own lips the cup that He presents to you. A saint has
said: ‘ The greatest honour that God can confer on a soul
does not consist in giving it a great deal but in asking from
it a great deal.’ Jesus treats you as one highly privileged;
He wills that you commence your mission now, and that,
by suffering, you save souls. Was it not by suffering and
death that He Himself redeemed the world? I know
that you aspire to the happiness of sacrificing your life
for Him; but martyrdom of heart is no less fruitful
than the shedding of blood, and from now onward, that
martyrdom is yours. So I can say in very truth that your
part is noble, that it is worthy of an apostle of Christ.”*
Encouraged by these words, the seminarist unfolded
freely not only his trials and fears, but also the ardour
of his zeal and hopes of perfection. Thérése, on her side,
saw in him one of those upright souls which only requires
gentle urging to advance rapidly in love of God. She
initiated him little by little into the way of filial abandon-

1 Abbé Bellitre had lost his mother a few days after his birth,
but he always gave his aunt, Mme Barthelemy, the title of
“ mother,” in affectionate recognition of the care he had received

from her. Phen
- Letter cited in the Appendix to l’Histoire d’une Ame, p. 364

282 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

ment which she felt it her mission to make known and
followed. She claimed in return an exchange of services.
Like Pére Roulland, the Abbé Belliére must say for her
each day a prayer of which she herself suggested the
formula. ‘‘ Merciful Father, in the name of Thy sweet
Jesus, of the Holy Virgin and all the saints, I ask Thee
to inflame my sister with Thy spirit of Love, and to give
her the grace to make Thee greatly loved.’’?

This communion of spiritual goods between a seminarist
full of the future and an invalid then on the eve of death
has something of heaven in it, like the intercourse of two
pure spirits. We must see with what supreme delight
Thérése speaks of her approaching end to him whom she
henceforth called “ her brother.”

“You have promised to pray for me all your life.
Undoubtedly it will be longer than mine, and you cannot
sing like me:

‘My exile will be short; that hope is mine.’

Neither is it permitted to you to forget your promise.
If the Saviour takes me soon to Himself, I ask you to
continue every day the same little prayer, for I shall desire
in heaven that which I have longed for on earth, to love
Jesus and make Him loved.

“You must think me strange, Monsieur l’Abbé. Perhaps
you regret having a sister who, it seems, wishes to enjoy
eternal repose while leaving you to work alone. But be
reassured. ‘The only thing I desire is the will of God,
and I admit, that if in heaven I could work no more for
His glory, I should prefer exile rather than the Fatherland.
I have no knowledge of the future. Nevertheless, if
Jesus realizes my presentiments, I promise to remain
your little sister in heaven. Our union, far from being
broken, shall become more intimate. ‘Then there will
no longer be grille or enclosure, and my soul can fly to
you in your far-off missions. Our réles shall remain

1 Letter cited in the appendix to /’Histoire d'une Ame, p. 365.

=

CHARITY OF ST THERESE 283

the same. For you the weapons of an apostle, for me
prayer and love.”

While awaiting her departure for the eternal Fatherland,
Thérése applied herself to the task of leading rapidly to
the summit of perfection the fervent seminarist, whom
she had never seen, but who, through the medium of his
“short formal ” letters, had made her realize his aspira-
tions towards perfect union with God. She both urged
* him on and gave him encouragement: “‘ I have had the
same thought as your director. You cannot be a saint by
halves. You must be one entirely or not at all. I felt
convinced that yours was an energetic soul, and on that
account I was happy to become your sister. Do not imagine
that you will frighten me by speaking of your ‘ best years
wasted.” No, I thank Jesus, who has turned on you a
look of love as formerly on the young man in the Gospel.
More fortunate than he, you have corresponded faithfully
to the divine Master’s call; you have left all to follow Him,
and in the golden days of life, at eighteen years.’”

Not content with combating his fears, she endeavoured
to launch him on the way of trustful confidence. “ Ah,
my brother, since it has been granted me too, to under-
stand the love of the Heart of Jesus, I avow that it has
banished from my heart all fear. ‘The remembrance of
my faults humbles me, leads me to distrust my own
strength which is but weakness; still more does that
memory speak to me of mercy and of love. When we cast
our faults with filial confidence into the devouring furnace
of divine love, how should they not be consumed for ever?”

Such is the apostleship exercised by a young Carmelite
almost at the point of death towards a future apostle.
Her exhortations were destined to bear fruit, for, shortly
afterwards, the Abbé Bellicre besought Sceur Thérése to
ask for him the grace of martyrdom.

1 Partly unpublished letter, February 24, 1897.
2 Partly unpublished letter, June 21, 1897.
3 Letter, June 21, 1897.

284 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

This correspondence, ever growing more and more
simple, candid, and free from human alloy, was to continue
until the last days of our dear saint. In noting her parting
thoughts and preoccupations, we shall give the ardent
exhortations, the words of hope which she continued to
send until the end to the future missionary.

* * * * *

Notwithstanding the exclusively supernatural character
of this correspondence between Thérése and the two
ecclesiastics whom her superiors had assigned her as
brothers, she was not without discerning the untoward
consequences which might result later on from such
relations if the example were followed. Thus, she wished
before her death humbly to counsel circumspection to
Mere Agnés de Jésus. ‘‘ Later on,” she said, “a great
number of young priests, learning that I was given as
spiritual sister to two missionaries, will ask the same
favour at this Carmel. ‘This may become a danger.
Only by prayer and sacrifice can we be useful to the
Church. Correspondence should be rare, and should
not be permitted at all to those who would become pre-
occupied by it, believing that they would accomplish
marvels, while in reality they only harm their own souls,
and perhaps fall into the subtle snares of the demon.
What I say to you, Mother, is very important; do not
forget it when I am gone.’

Thus, our saint had the wisdom to realize that apostolic
charity must always be regulated by prudence. The
love she outpoured generously on her neighbour as the
expression or consequence of her love for her crucified
Saviour was indeed the “ vigilant and circumspect love ”
which the author of the Imitation requires.

Her endeavour to act according to God aimed above
all at that virtue which is at the summit of moral per-
fection, namely, divine love. By her exceeding gener-

1 Summarium of 1919, p. 562, § 1553.

4 Samal

CHARITY OF ST THERESE 285

osity, she had given a shining example in this virtue, and
it was this heroic practice of charity which recently en-
abled the sovereign Pontiff Pius XI to present little
Thérése as a model to the clamorous and restless world
of today. “The spirit of our time,” says the Holy
Father, “‘ is, as all know and feel, that of movement, of
continuous and hurried action. . . . And in this course,
in this feverish occupation of every instant, people too
. easily overlook the real_substance, the true value of all
~ action and of all sanctity. It is Charity. The Heart of
God has deigned to reveal it to us.

“There are, in truth, many other virtues necessary;
but Charity is the greatest of all, Major horum caritas,1
and this virtue makes up for deficiencies which may be
found in the exercise of others. Charity is truly the love
of God, and, with this motive, it is also love of the neigh-
bour. For if we really love God, we cannot help loving
those whom God Himself has loved to the extent of giving
His life for them, as He has given it for us.

*“ Now, consider the Venerable Thérése de |’Enfant
Jésus, a true flower of love come from heaven to earth
to astonish both earth and heaven. Hers is a heart, a
soul, tenderly childlike, and at the same time apostolic
even to heroism. She is all filled, all vibrating with love
of God and of Jesus, a love tender and strong, simple yet
deeply rooted, which inspires her with transports of filial
abandonment and with the magnificent actions of apostle
and martyr.’”

Her apostolic actions we have already noticed in part.
But as “ there is no living in love without some sorrow,’”*
we must mention with new details the diverse phases of
the martyrdom she endured because of her tender love
for Jesus.

77 Cor. Xiit 13°

2 Discourse of His Holiness Pope Pius XI on the occasion
of the promulgation of the Decree “‘ De Tuto,”’ March Ig, 1925.

° Sine dolore, non vivitur in amore. Imit., L. iii, ch. v.

CHAPTER XI

SUFFERING’S ROLE IN THE PROVIDENCE OF GOD DISCERNED
AND INTERPRETED BY THERESE—HER PERFECT PRACTICE
OF MONASTIC VIRTUES PROPERLY SO CALLED: POVERTY,
CHASTITY AND OBEDIENCE—HER LOVE OF THE CROSS
THE CONDITION AND CONSEQUENCE OF HER LOVE FOR
JESUS

OD did not make pain; it is the fruit of sin. But
(5 by a merciful disposition of His infinite goodness,

affliction can become the remedy of sin and a
preservative from sin.

Suffering has the power of expiation. Sceur Thérése
de l’Enfant Jésus was not unaware of this power when
she resolved to enter Carmel in order to atone for sinners.
Suffering enlightens, undeceives, and sets free. ‘The
great, the only obstacle to the love of God is a blind
and inordinate love of creatures. ‘This inordinate love,
dangerous to the soul at all times, is particularly so in
periods of prosperity and success. ‘‘ Our life on earth,”
says Mer. Gay, “ is full of delusions. ‘The more worldly
we are in spirit, the more numerous do these delusions
become and the more power have they to captivate us.
We admit at times that we have been deceived and
betrayed; but at heart we are pleased, and as long as
suffering holds aloof from our life of delusion, we find
therein charms which in our mind throw into the shade,
and too often even eclipse, the joys of paradise... . To
this mirage add the illusions by which we continually,
but more especially in time of prosperity, deceive our-
selves. How full of vain assurance and presumption is
man, so long as nothing crosses or afflicts him. How

286

THE PROVIDENCE OF GOD 287

many things he forgets and how many others he imagines.
What self-complacency in regard to his state! Should he
remain thus for but a few years without physical or moral
suffering, life then seems to him a sort of heaven, and he
is not far off regarding himself as a god. Ina word, that
man is blind. ‘This is the worst condition that ever could
befall a creature whose law is to advance, and who under
pain of death should never leave the straight way. Then
sorrow comes—comes through God’s mercy—life takes
a serious meaning and becomes austere and penitent; it
assumes its true character,”

Sceeur Thérése had long understood this doctrine, she
who at the age of fourteen wrote: “‘ It is indeed true that
the drop of gall should be mixed with every cup we drink.
But I find that thorns help greatly in detaching us from
earth; they make us look upwards, beyond this earth.”

She would never, of course, think of imputing to God
the will to make His creatures suffer without the ultimate
design of love. “‘ Oh, no,” she writes, ‘“ never do our
sufferings make Him happy; but this suffering is necessary
for us; He then sends us sorrow while, as it were, turning
away His Face.’* And again: “ It costs Him much to
make us drink at the source of tears, but He knows that
it is the only means of preparing us to ‘ know Him as He
knows Himself, to become as gods ourselves... .2 We
are not yet in the fatherland, and temptation must purify
us as gold in the furnace.”

This clear perception of God’s loving designs it was
that made her accept with cheerfulness, even before her
entrance into the convent, the little crosses of her life
at school, her troubles of conscience, too, which were often
severe, and later, at the Carmel, her violent temptations
against faith.

1 Life and the Christian Virtues, t. II, p. 312.

2 Letter to Sceur Agnés de Jésus, 1887.

8 P Esprit de Sainte Thérése de l’ Enfant Jésus, p. 107.
4 Ibid., p. 108.

288 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

To souls blinded by the “‘ fascination of earthly trifles,”
as to those called to higher perfection, God usually sends
some great trial, often at an unexpected moment, which
reveals His divine Hand either in breaking the power of
darkness or severing the last bonds which hold them back
from scaling the heights.

Thérése had gathered early the firstfruits of suffering.
“Trial,” she declares, ‘“‘ had matured and fortified my
soul to such a degree that nothing here below could any
longer distress it.”

It remained for her to cast herself wholly and entirely
into the arms of God, convinced of the frailty of her most
reliable human supports. Thus it was then that Provi-
dence sent her father that great trial which was to effect
her so deeply. She understood its meaning and import
from the first moment, as these lines addressed to her
sister Céline show: ‘‘ How has Jesus acted to detach our
souls from everything created? Ah, He has stricken a
heavy blow, but it is through love . . . God is admirable,
but He is above all lovable.’

Such sorrows manifest assuredly the nothingness of
earthly joys and have powerful influence in drawing souls
towards heaven; they cannot, however, eradicate from
the soul, be it ever so sincerely given to God, the three
concupiscences, always deep rooted in the sons of Adam
since the Fall. ‘These natural tendencies are for ever
striving to make the poor heart return little by little to
what it has renounced, so that the surest means of strength-
ening our union with the Sovereign Good is to engage
earnestly in unrelenting conflict with these undying foes.

Hence we see the use and high import of the religious
vows. Sceur Thérése de l’Enfant Jésus, who had “‘ never
given God anything but love,” and who wished to ad-
vance, to her last hour, in that sacred intimacy, naturally _
took the means of establishing herself irrevocably in

1 Histoire dune Ame, ch. ii, p. 21.
* Letter of July 14, 1889.

THE PROVIDENCE OF GOD 289

those blessed dispositions. She had pronounced with
joy the vows which bound her to the Divine Master;
cost her what it might, she must now fulfil—and with
heroic fidelity—the engagements which held her fast in
His love. Their observance was for her a further gift
of love to Jesus. Let us note some characteristic details
of her religious life which, added to those already cited,
will show with what vigour she strove to maintain the
* combat against all inclinations tending to divide her
affections.

We have shown striking examples of her religious
poverty. All these, however, give but an inadequate
idea of the saint’s detachment from earthly things.

From the first, she distinguished herself by patience
in enduring privations not imposed by the rule itself,
and which could have been spared her by more attentive
charity on the part of others. Far from complaining,
she even reassured Mére Agnés de Jésus, who was some-
times distressed at this negligence. “ Do not torment
yourself on my account, I beg of you; I am already too
well cared for.”

She was intensely sensitive to cold, and admitted, during
her last illness, that she had suffered at Carmel in this
respect ‘“‘ even to death.” ‘“‘ When the weather was very
severe,” one of her sisters tells us, “‘ the Servant of God,
having been benumbed with the cold during the whole
day, would go to the community-room for a few moments
after Matins to warm herself. But in order to reach her
cell she had to walk about fifty yards in the cloisters, in
open air; then go up the stairs and along an icy corridor,
which completely robbed her of the little warmth so
sparingly accorded. Thus, when she lay down on her
paillasse wrapped in two poor blankets, her sleep was
‘broken and unrestful. She often spent the entire night
shivering with cold and unable to sleep. If she had told
this to her novice-mistress during her first years at the

Carmel, she would have obtained relief immediately; but
| is

290 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

she preferred to accept this severe mortification uncom-
plainingly, never mentioning it until she lay on her
deathbed.’”

By force of virtue and in spite of her natural instinct
for elegance, she arrived as we know at absolute in-
difference in the matter of clothing. Not that she wore
her habit with affected negligence, but she accepted it,
such as it was, without showing the least sign of dis-
pleasure. She had been given a habit which fitted her
very badly, and when asked if she did not feel some
vexation, ‘‘ Not the least,” she said. ‘‘ No more than
if it were that of an inhabitant of China two thousand
leagues away.”

Sceur Thérése de l’Enfant Jésus, who had a natural
repugnance to unsightly objects, chose deliberately to
keep them in preference to others. She also sought out
for her own use the things that were least convenient.
Thus during her whole religious life, she used a little
lamp in which the wick could only be raised with a pin.
On Céline’s entrance, Thérése passed on to her her own
serviceable inkstand and holy water font, replacing them
by others long disused and relegated to the garret, where
she went to look for them. Her pens she continued to
write with after they had become unfit for service, and
for the manuscript of her autobiography she utilized
two series of miserable exercise-books which the last and
least in the ranks of school-children would have felt
inclined to reject.

In regard to her poems, there was the same spirit of
detachment. Her vetses were scribbled on old envelopes
or waste paper. She would have loved to keep a copy
in order to sing them while at work, but she gave them
away to every comer, retaining none herself, and so was
unable to use her compositions for her own satisfaction
or devotion.

This holy poverty was practised by her till the end with

1 Histotre d’une Ame, ch. xii, p. 233.

THE PROVIDENCE OF GOD 291

the same rigour. During her last illness, she begged that
they would not give her costly remedies. She even re-
frained from asking for the iced water or grapes that had
been offered to her, saying that she could not seek those
things which were simply pleasing to the taste and not
necessary. As long as it was permitted, she passed her
nights on the hard paillasse of her cell, far enough from
the rest of the community, happy in the thought that she
would not disturb other Sisters by her frequent attacks
of coughing, as she would if she were in the infirmary.
All the comfort afforded her in this little cell is told by her
sister Céline. ‘‘ After the cauterizing needle had been
applied—one day I counted five hundred of these applica-
tions—she went at night to lie on her paillasse. Not
having permission to give her a mattress (I was then assist-
ant infirmarian), I had no other resource but to fold a
large blanket in four and place it under her sheet.’’”

Submissive to all the constraints suggested by strict
poverty, such as gathering up used matches or scraps of
paper, Sceur Thérése endeavoured to leave no moments
unemployed. She wished her novices also to be very
strict in this matter, “‘ because,’’ as she said, “‘ time does
not belong to us.”

But we have evidence of what is of greater merit than
mortification in the material order. It happened some-
times that, at recreation or elsewhere, a Sister, more or less
unconsciously, availed herself of reflections or inspired
thoughts of the Saint, giving them out as though they were
her own; Thérése suffered this in silence, never asserting
her rights, and acknowledging with sweetness that “the
thought did not belong to herself but to the Holy Ghost.”

Thus it was, that having renounced every earthly
possession, she sacrificed also the fruits of her mind
which formed an integral part of herself, a deprivation
which is ever a real mortification.

1 Cf. Summarium of 1919, p. 402, § 1018
2 Ibid., p. 394, § 1001.

292 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

A word now on the precautions which the extreme
delicacy of her chastity always suggested to her against
the seductions of the flesh.

From early childhood this most pure soul felt exiled
and constrained in her prison of clay. “‘I have always
been ill at ease in my body; even when still very young, I
felt embarrassed by it.” Her presence conveyed an
impression of holy reserve, and she inspired all with
profound respect.

She was, in truth, so pure and so simple that one could
confide to her any kind of temptation; you knew before-
hand that she would not be thereby troubled. Not that
she felt naturally invulnerable. But she had confided her
innocence to the guardianship of the Virgin Mary and St
Joseph. In the strength of their protection she never
lost her peace of soul, even in presence of dangerous and
unavoidable occasions.

We remember her fervent prayer to Our Lady of Vic-
tories on the eve of her departure for Italy. Not without
reason had she feared the snares of Satan during this pil-
grimage undertaken on behalf of her vocation. Not to
speak of the museums and public places through which
she passed without allowing her innocence to be ruffled
by the slightest breath of evil, there were two occurrences
which made her implore the special protection of the
Queen of heaven.
l~At Boulogne, the pilgrims, on alighting from the train,
found themselves surrounded by a crowd of students,
whose boisterous demonstrations somewhat disquieted
and annoyed them. One of these from amidst the crowd
stared at Thérese with effrontery for an instant, then
seized hold of her, and in a moment lifted her across
the track. But the saintly child, recommending herself
to the Blessed Virgin, turned on him such a look that he
went away dumbfounded with confusion.?

A more subtle temptation was later to come her way.

1 Cf. Summarium of 1919, p. 398, § 1007.

THE PROVIDENCE OF GOD 293

A young man, one of the pilgrims, of perfect manners
and education, showed her rather too marked attentions.
She received his advances with the coldest reserve,
finding this the surest means of checking the tendencies of
her own nature so responsive to affection. When alone
with Céline, she confided her trouble to her: ‘‘ Oh, it is
indeed time that Jesus took me away from the poisoned
breath of the world. I feel that my heart would easily
let itself be taken captive by affection, and where others
have perished, I would perish too, for every creature
is weak, myself in particular.” Referring to this in her
Autobiography, she writes: ‘‘ I can claim no merit in not
surrendering to the love of creatures since I was preserved
only by the great mercy of God.’”?

She had placed her virginity under the protection of
Mary and Joseph. She also made humility its guardian,
taking at the same time the most assiduous precaution to
preserve that great virtue. God rewarded her vigilance
by keeping her free, as she herself testifies, from the
slightest interior suggestion against chastity. She could
discern, besides, with extraordinary wisdom the snares
of the enemy, and even recognized the profit that could
be derived from such a struggle by a soul living in simple
abandonment to God. In this strain she wrote to a young
girl in the world: “‘ Pure hearts are often surrounded by
thorns.... Then the lilies think that they have lost their
whiteness ; they fear that the thorns surrounding them have
succeeded in marring the beauty of their corolla. . .
But lilies in the midst of thorns are beloved by Jesus.
Happy those who have been found worthy to suffer
temptation.”

With even scrupulous fidelity to the religious promises
made toher Divine Spouse, Sceur Thérése had also, through
love of Him, sacrificed a dearer and more personal good
than earthly possessions or even attachment to creatures.

1 Cf. Summarium of 1919, p. 632, §§ 1869, 1870.
2 Ibid., p. 400, § 1013.

204 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

She gave up her own will. She realized that to love
Jesus, ‘‘ as He had never before been loved,’”’* she must
dispossess herself for ever not only of every earthly thing
but even of self.

On the testimony of her contemporaries in the cloister,
Thérése was from the first moment of her religious life
a perfect model of obedience. ‘‘ Never,” declared one
of these, ‘‘ have I seen her in the slightest degree un-
faithful to the rule. She was careful to obey in the very
least details. When our Mother recommended certain
things, she invariably followed these counsels to the letter.
She left everything at the first sound of the bell, even
if in the middle of a conversation however interesting.
If engaged in sewing, she immediately laid her needle
aside, not even finishing the stitch she had commenced.”
Her sister Marie wished one day, while the bell was sound-
ing, to finish writing down some thought that she had
given her and which she was afraid of forgetting. ‘Thérése
reproved her gently but frankly: ‘‘ It would be far better
to lose that and act with regularity. If we but knew all
that regularity means.”’

The mistress of novices, Sur Marie des Anges, has
given another striking instance of her religious punctuality :
“‘ One day in winter when, profiting by the authorization
of custom, she had taken off thick woollen stockings, which
were wet through, to let them dry at the fire during recrea-
tion, there came a message that the bell was ringing in the
sacristy, of which she then had charge. Simply putting
on her hempen sandals, which we call alpargates, she
went through two cloisters without a thought of the risk
she ran in thus exposing herself to the icy-cold blast.
How many would have asked for a moment’s delay? For
her, however, God had spoken; she ran to the call of duty
without thinking of the consequences.’”*

1 Her wish was expressed in these heroic words
2 Cf. Summarium of 1919, p. 480, § 1297.
3 Ibid., p. 678, § 2042.

THE PROVIDENCE OF GOD 295

Such acts were but the outcome in practice of her
theories on obedience. Has she not written in her
Histoire d'une Ame: ‘‘ How happy are simple religious.
The will of their superiors being their only guide, they
are sure of never deceiving themselves... . But when
they cease to consult this infallible guide, the soul strays
immediately into arid ways where the waters of grace soon
fail her.”

Nothing less than this firmness of principle would have
enabled her to impose on herself the severe privations
which the exact observance of religious obedience, in her
opinion, demanded. Other facts, also attested to by her
sister, show how rigorously she acted towards herself in
order to fulfil the Master’s command. “It is forbidden
in the convent,” says Sceur Marie du Sacré-Cceur, “ to
read books or papers which are not for our own special
use, even should it be only a few words. After a preached
retreat, Sceur Thérése de I’Enfant Jésus told me that she
had accused herself of having looked at an illustrated
sheet of a catalogue of novelties. And when I remarked
that it was not forbidden to look at pictures, she replied,
* That is true; but the Father has told me that it is more
perfect to deprive oneself even of this. Yet that sight of
the world’s vanities did but raise my soul to God. Now,
however, when I find any such prints, I no longer look
at them.’ ”’

“She told me that the fact of our Mother Prioress
having given permission to Mére Agnés de Jésus to speak
to her occasionally was for her the matter of very great
sacrifice, for, not having received permission to reveal her
own thoughts, she merely listened to the confidences of
her whom she called ‘ her little mother’ without giving
any of her own. And yet a word would have procured
the necessary authorization. ‘ But,’ she said, “ we must
not seek permissions which lessen the sacrifices of the reli-

1 Cf. Summarium of 1919, p. 698, § 2043-

296 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

gious life, for then it would become a merely natural
existence without merit.’ ” ‘

Critical circumstances and, more especially, painful
doubts were to put to a still sharper test the obedience
of Sceur Thérése de l’Enfant Jésus. We are aware of the
service rendered her by Pére Alexis during a retreat, by
his clear comprehension of her aspirations towards sanc-
tity and his unhesitating pronouncement concerning
God’s designs in her regard. But, by a regrettable abuse
of authority, Mére Marie de Gonzague forbade her,
after the first interview, to go back again, as others did,
for the purpose of speaking more at leisure on the affairs
of her soul. This was a great trial for the Saint, but she
suffered in silence.

Her chief object in asking to be kept in the novitiate
beyond the ordinary time of probation and remaining there
till the end was that she might better practise obedience.
When we think that the novice-mistress was then Mére
Marie de Gonzague, who joined this charge to the office
of Prioress, we can have nothing but unreserved admira-
tion for the young religious who thus chose to remain
indefinitely subject even in the smallest details to the
superior who had treated her with so little consideration.

Mére Marie de Gonzague had, moreover, made of her
own accord a number of little regulations, which, through
lapse of memory, she neglected after a short time to enforce,
and which, once fallen into disuse, had become for the
community a dead letter. In spite of this, Thérése de
l’Enfant Jésus continued to observe such rules until they
were duly and expressly revoked.

This fidelity to forgotten or lapsed regulations some-
times cost her dear. She herself has told of the trouble
caused by a certain avowal which she made each day in
obedience to an order received. ‘‘ Our mistress,’”’ she
says, ‘‘ had commanded me, when I was a postulant, to
tell her whenever I felt sick. This happened every day,
and the command became for me a real torture. When

THE PROVIDENCE OF GOD 297

the attack of pain came on, I would have preferred a
hundred strokes of the lash to the obligation of making
it known; nevertheless, I told it each time through
obedience. Sceur Marie des Anges, who no longer
remembered the order she had given, would say to me
on these occasions: ‘ My poor child, you will never have
health sufficient to follow the rule; it is too severe for you.’
And she went for remedies for me to Mére Marie de
_ Gonzague, who, astonished and dissatisfied on hearing
_ of my daily reports, replied sharply: ‘ This child is con-
tinually complaining. ... If she cannot bear her pains
and aches, her place is not amongst us.’ Notwithstanding
all, I continued for a long time through pure obedience
to confess this trouble at the risk of being sent away, until
at last, the good God, taking pity on my weakness, per-
mitted that I should be relieved of the obligation of
speaking about it.’

Through obedience also, and contrary to every personal
inclination, she wrote her Histoire d’une Ame. A formal
command from her Prioress was required to decide her
to do that which, if undertaken on her own initiative,
would in her eyes have been opposed to humility. We
can judge of her mind on the subject by her answer to
a young nun who told her that she also intended to write
an account of her vocation. ‘‘ Beware of doing anything
of the sort,” she said. ‘‘ You cannot write it without
permission, and I advise you not to seek that. As for
me, I would not have wished to write anything about my
life had I not received an express command, a command
that I would not have sought. It is more humble to
write nothing about self. The great graces of life, like
that of vocation, cannot be forgotten. The memories
of such graces will be of more worth to you if you confine
them within your own mind than if you entrust them to
paper.’””

1 Cf. Summarium of 1919, p. 518, § 1393-
> Ibid., p. 724, § 1393.

298 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

Following her Divine Master’s example, the young
Saint was to remain obedient unto death. During the
last days of her life, when she was burning with fever,
her sister Marie, in order to cool and refresh her a little,
wanted to take away the sheet which covered her feet.
Thérése stopped her with these words: ‘“‘ I would indeed
like it, but it is perhaps not permitted. Ask our Mother.”
She had thought even that she ought to keep the woollen
coverlet, though its weight sorely oppressed her, because
Mére Marie de Gonzague had once said, when speaking
to the strong and healthy nuns, that it was a laudable
practice to bear with this coverlet in the heat of summer.*

Invariably faithful from the moment of her profession
to the strictest practice of poverty, chastity, and obedi-
ence, Sceur Thérése de |’Enfant Jésus had thus held aloof
from every creature calculated to hinder in the least degree
her union with her Beloved. By this heroic struggle,
she continually offered to her Divine Master a holocaust
of love. The suffering, at times severe, entailed by these
repeated efforts against temptation kept her in continual
tribulation but very near to God, beneath His Divine
regard, and close to His Heart. For this reason she
submitted in joyful thankfulness to the Divine gift of
sorrow. But the saving power of trial, the worth of
adversity in steadying the soul on dangerous heights,
does not entirely explain Thérése’s loving attraction for
suffering nor the fervour with which she trod her path
to Calvary unto the end?

1 Cf. Summarium of 1919, p. 588, § 1677.

* Corporal suffering was not, besides, her principal means of
renunciation and redemption. She even considered that certain
authors, in their lives of saints, have insisted too much on their
extraordinary penances as the proof and the almost indispens-
able character of sanctity.

“This is a cause of trouble to souls,” she says. ‘‘ Many
imagine that to please God they must give themselves over
absolutely to exaggerated practices of mortification. ‘Then the

demon deceives them, and leads them into certain dangerous
illusions such as preoccupation about self, pride, etc.”

THE PROVIDENCE OF GOD 299

We know that she valued suffering lovingly accepted
as a means of completing in herself and others the Passion
of Christ. If fora moment we take this point of view,
we shall understand the attraction for suffering which
made the angelic Carmelite, ever smiling beneath her
cross, the martyr of love recently extolled by Pius XI.1

Without doubt, the sacred Passion of Our Saviour
possesses in itself unbounded efficacy. But this efficacy
does not become perfect in Christians, does not produce
its full effect until, participating in the Divine Passion by
faith and the sacraments, they associate themselves with
Christ’s sufferings, in as far as they are able and God
demands, by real imitation and effective compassion.
“If a man has not suffered for Jesus and with Jesus,”
says Mgr Gay, “ he cannot be sure that he loves Jesus.’

Sceeur Thérése had probably meditated on these words
of the holy Bishop, written especially for Carmelites.
At all events, she showed clearly that the difficult virtues
of patience in trials of faith, of boundless devotedness to
all around her, of poverty, chastity, and obedience, were
at once the condition and the result of that compassionate

One day during the last year of her life, while walking in the
garden at recreation time, Thérése broached this subject to
Mére Agnés de Jésus, and said: ‘‘I have been struck by a
passage in the life of Blessed Henry Suso concerning bodily
penances. He had practised frightful penances, which had
ruined his health, when an angel appeared and told him to
desist, adding: ‘ You have till now fought only like an ordinary
soldier; I am going to make you a knight.’ And he made the
Saint understand the superiority of spiritual combat over
mortifications of the flesh. ‘Well, Mother,’ concluded Sceur
Thérése, ‘ the good God nas not willed that I should fight like
a common soldier; I received at once a knight’s armour, and I
set out to war against myself in the spiritual domain by renun
ciation and little hidden sacrifices. I have found peace and
humility in this obscure combat where nature has no place.’ ”’

1 Discourse on the occasion of the promulgation of the
Decree di Tuto (towards the end).

2 De la vie et des vertues chrétiennes, t. ii, p. 327.

300 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

love which from childhood the fervent nun had promised
to her suffering Saviour.?

As to this love itself, tender and strong, confiding and
filial as it was, and for her the source of so many perfec-
tions, she gives us to understand that she obtained it
above all in virtue of a special grace cherished and turned
to profit from her earliest years by faithful co-operation.

She made progress, nevertheless, in this holy love and
in her great charity towards her neighbour, more especially
for “little souls’’ called to sanctify themselves in the
daily round of ordinary life.

She proposed, in writing her autobiography, to delineate
the method which had helped her in her progress onward,

1'To this explanation of Thérése’s attraction for suffering,
one of the authors who has written best concerning her has
added others of equal importance. ‘‘ Love,” he says, “‘ carries
within it the germ of suffering, and ordinarily this germ develops
with it. Itis impossible to love God ardently without suffering.
It is very painful, first of all, to see Him so little loved and so
greatly offended. It is a sorrow, moreover, to be unable to love
Him ourselves as we desire. We suffer from the narrowness
and incapacity of our hearts, which do not suffice to contain
the floods of tenderness that come from the Heart of God in
almost overwhelming torrents.

“There is another reason, too, why every soul that loves
Jesus ardently, also loves suffering, and accepts sorrow with joy.
It is because she finds in every cross that comes, an efficacious
means of ‘ purchasing souls for Him.’ 'To love Jesus does not
satisfy her devotion; she wishes at all costs to gain other souls
that will love Him eternally. She wishes to save sinners for
Him. But sinners are not saved except by the application to
them of the Saviour’s infinite merits. Only grace can convert
them, and grace, the fruit of the bloody sacrifice of Calvary,
often reaches their souls by a mysterious channel formed and
maintained by those voluntary immolations by which pure souls
prolong the sacrifice of the Cross in the mystical body of Christ.
‘Those whom Christ has redeemed by His death are saved by
suffering.

“For all these reasons, then, is suffering the inseparable
companion of love”? (G. Martin, La “ petite voie’’ d’enfance
spirituelle, pp. 79-80).

hea

THE PROVIDENCE OF GOD 301

and which she has called ‘the little way of spiritual
childhood.”

Her exposition is by no means didactic, as we may well
surmise, and its elements are found scattered through the
Histoire d’une Ame. For this reason some profit may,
perhaps, be derived from the perusal ofthe following effort
to bring together these elements, these means of advancing
in perfection which so quickly made Thérése a saint of
- the highest order, means which, as she asserts, prove
-infallibly efficacious for every soul of good will.

CHAPTER XII

IDEA, ADVANTAGES, AND NECESSITY OF THE “‘ LITTLE WAY
OF SPIRITUAL CHILDHOOD ”’

EFORE considering in its highest degree the
B love which was to consume the heart of Thérése,

it would seem that we should have completed the
description of those virtues that sprang from it as from
their principle.

Besides the faith of which, in spite of obscurities per-
mitted by God, she gave such continual and such signal
proofs, it would have been natural to note her invincible
hope, her profound humility, her perfect abandonment
into the hands of God.

It happens, however, that these virtues, completing
as they do her spiritual endowment, form part of the
ascetical method she has expounded in a manner that is
altogether original. First of all, then, must be noted the
place which humility, confidence in God, holy abandon-
ment, zeal, and, above all, love itself, hold in this system.
An exact knowledge of her spiritual doctrine, and the praise
that Pope Benedict XV has given it, will show its high
importance and even necessity. Following this theoretical
examination, we shall study in the next chapter the prac-
tice in detail of these same virtues in the daily life of the
Saint. a

Not that the supernatural qualities already observed in
Thérése were strangers to her doctrine of perfection; but,
excepting love, they were perhaps of lesser consequence
thereto than those that are to occupy our attention at
present.

302

THE “LITTLE WAY OF SPIRITUAL CHILDHOOD” 303

From her very childhood, Thérése had commenced to
walk in this way. Only in 1895, however, did she begin
to reveal its secret. In Chapter IX of the Histoire d’une
Ame she has described it to her Mother Prioress thus:
“You know, Mother, that I have always longed to be
a Saint. But, alas! I have always felt, when comparing
myself with the Saints, that there exists between them and
me the same difference as we see in nature between a
mountain with its summit hidden in the clouds and the
grain of sand trodden under the feet of passers-by.

“Instead of being discouraged, I said to myself:
‘’'The good God would not inspire unattainable desires ;
I may, then, in spite of my littleness, aspire to sanctity.
I cannot make myself greater; I must bear with myself
just as I am with all my imperfections. But I wish to
seek a way to heaven, a new way, very short, very straight,
a little path. We live in a century of inventions. ‘The
trouble of walking upstairs exists no longer; in the houses
of the rich a lift replaces the stairs. I, too, would like
to find a lift to raise me to Jesus, for I am too little to
ascend the steep steps of perfection.’

“Then I sought in the Holy Scriptures for some indica-
tion of this lift, the object of my desires, and I read these
words from the mouth of Eternal Wisdom: ‘ Whosoever
is a little one, let him come to me.”!

**T then drew near to God, realizing well that I had
found what I sought. Still desiring to know how He
would deal with little ones, I enquired further, and found
this: ‘ As one whom the mother caresseth, so will I com-
fort you; you shall be carried at the breasts, and upon the
knees they shall caress you.”

‘* Ah, ™ever have more tender and melodious words
gladdened my soul. Thine arms, O fesus, form the lift
which will raise me to heaven. For this I have no need
of becoming greater; on the contrary, I must remain little
and become even smaller. O my God, Thou hast sur-

1 Prov. ix 4. 2 Tsaias lxvi 13.

304 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

passed my hopes, and I will sing Thy mercies: ‘ ‘Thou hast
taught me, O God, from my youth, and till now I have
declared Thy wondrous works; and unto old age will I
continue to declare them.’ ’”*

Here in a few sentences we have the exposition of a
spiritual doctrine which, after having made of a weak
child a great saint, continues each day to waken in the
humblest souls virtues worthy of angels’ admiration.

In order, however, that they may prove a sure guide
to those whom Thérése wishes to lead, these lines call
for brief commentary.

* * * ¥* *

And first, we note that nothing is more frequently and
more expressly inculcated in Holy Scripture than the
necessity of spiritual childhood. Let us add to the text
quoted by Thérése the clear and commanding words of
the Master, “‘ Amen, I say to you, unless you be con-
verted, and become as little children, you shall not enter
into the kingdom of heaven.’

Nothing could be clearer; in order to be saved, and
with all the more reason, in order to arrive at eminent
sanctity, we must become as little children, we must
clothe ourselves spiritually with the virtues of childhood.

What is it, if not littleness and weakness and the lack
of all things, which inclines the child to rely with all
confidence and simplicity on the affection of his parents,
to look to them for everything with perfect abandonment?

This state of want, this radical powerlessness to be self-
sufficing are precisely the dispositions which give the child
real dominion over the father’s heart. Knowing by
experience its parents’ unbounded anxiety for its welfare,
the little one seeks refuge instinctively in their arms,
abandoning itself to them without fear. The smaller
and weaker the father sees his child to be, and the more

1 Cf. Ps. Ixx 18. Histoire d’une Ame, ch. ix, pp. 153-154.
2 Matt. xviii 3.

THE “‘LITTLE WAY OF SPIRITUAL CHILDHOOD” 305

he notices its need of support, and its ready confidence,
the more does he open his heart to that child. It is not
merely momentary protection that this loving abandon-
ment obtains. Paternal love grows at each new service
which the child demands, just as the latter’s affection
expresses itself by new marks of tenderness at each succeed-
ing act of kindness. Thus there takes place a sweet and
touching interchange of love, founded originally on the
weakness and insufficiency of the little one so tenderly
cherished.

But if such be the history of a father’s heart, what shall
we say of the immeasurable devotedness of the mother
towards her new-born babe, who, without her aid,
must droop and die? Isit not she, above all, who becomes
more and more attached to her child in proportion to
its weakness ? What can be a surer means of gaining
her heart than to make her realize the immense needs of
this frail little creature ?

Let us now compare these observations with the teach-
ing of Holy Scripture. God is a father, and the burning
ardour of His love surpasses all human tenderness. His
charity exceeds, moreover, that of the most devoted of
mothers here below, since, on the testimony of His
prophet, if even the impossible should happen, that a
mother forget her infant, yet never need we fear such
abandonment on His part.' It follows that the surest
means of gaining His Heart is to remain or to become
again a child, in His eyes, that is to say, to recognize our
nothingness in His sight, to lay our poverty before Him,
to make ourselves truly little in presence of His Majesty,
confiding without fear in His sovereign goodness so that
we may move Him to generosity towards us. We have
here the initial lines of the way planned out by Scur
Thérése de l’Enfant Jésus, and the secret which she pro-
posed to reveal to “ little souls.”

This secret appears simple; it contains nothing which

1 [saias xlili 25,
2a

306 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

can inspire fear in the feeblest Christian heart. It is
essential, however, to discern clearly the true signification
of the actions enjoined by this method.

First, there is the recognition of our incapacity and
poverty. But this can be recognized and at the same time
hated, reviled. What is necessary is that we willingly
proclaim our nothingness in regard to the greatness of
the Almighty. In other words, the surest disposition to
draw from the Father in heaven a kindly smile is humility
of heart by which we really and truly love to see our-
selves as we are, and look with joy into the depths of our
lowliness.*

This disposition is, alas, comparatively rare, even
amongst Christians. The greater number are, indeed,
willing to admit their weakness, but only to a certain point.
They credit themselves with real personal strength, on
which they are content to rely while all goes well, only
to fall into discouragement at the first serious obstacle
they meet with. They have not understood that the
child’s strength lies in its very weakness, since God is in-
clined to help His creatures in proportion to their recogni-
tion and humble avowal of their natural helplessness.

To these Thérése gives an unequivocal lesson when she
writes: ‘‘In order to be raised to heaven in the arms of
Jesus, I need not become greater; I must, on the contrary,
remain little and even become smaller.”” And again:
“What pleases Jesus in my little soul is to see me love
my littleness and poverty, to see the unquestioning hope

1 Sceur Thérése has herself explained what she understands
by this littleness so pleasing to God. “To be little,” she says,
““means not to attribute to self the virtues that one practises,
believing oneself capable of anything; it means recognizing that
the good God places this treasure of virtue in the hand of His
little child to be used by him when he has need of it; but always
it is God’s treasure. In fine, it means not being discouraged
about our faults, for children fall often, but are too small to
do themselves much harm.” Cited in the Summarium of 1919,
p- 260. 2 Histoire d’une Ame, ch. ix, p. 154.

THE ‘*LITTLE WAY OF SPIRITUAL CHILDHOOD ” 307

I have in His mercy.”* She goes farther, and says:
“Tt is Jesus who has accomplished everything in me;
I have done nothing but remain little and weak.’”2

Let us, however, note henceforward that the workings of
Jesus in the soul do not dispense from personal effort.
The little child who is helped, supported, saved by its
father must repay these benefits by active and generous
love as far as it is able. We shall speak later of this
necessary co-operation.

A second characteristic trait of spiritual childhood is
poverty. ‘The child possesses nothing of its own; every-
thing belongs to its parents. But is it not precisely this
absolute want of all things which moves the father to pro-
vide for every necessity, especially if the child is insistent
in drawing attention to the excess of its misery? We give
to the little child who has nothing of its own precisely
because it has nothing, because it realizes its poverty and
pleads for pity. When this state of penury has ceased
to exist through the child growing up and commencing
to earn his own livelihood, the father, be he ever so affec-
tionate, discontinues his bounty. ‘‘ Even amongst the
poor,” observed Thérése, “ the little child is given what is
necessary. But when it has grown up, the father is no
longer inclined to continue his help, and says: ‘ Work now;
you are able to support yourself.’ Well then,” she added,
** it is so that I may never hear such words that I have not
wished to grow up, feeling incapable of gaining for my-
self life eternal, for I have never been able to do anything
by myself alone. I have always therefore remained
little, occupying myself solely in gathering flowers of
love and sacrifice and offering them to the good God for

His pleasure.’”*

1 Sixth letter to Sceur Marie du Sacré-Cceur.

2 Spirit of St Thérese de l’Enfant Fésus. She has expressed
the same thought in the Histoire d’une Ame: “‘ Because I was
little and weak, Jesus gently stooped down to me, and instructed
me in the secrets of His love” (p. 81). ° Conseils et Souvenirs.

308 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

The child, then, who wishes to obtain the help due to
its tender years, must say to its father: “I am not able
to do anything; be my strength. I have nothing; be
my riches.”

In the same way, the soul will gain everything by possess-
ing nothing and by looking to God for all. She must,
however, accustom herself to await the coming of each
day for the gifts thereof, asking nothing except what is
needed at the present instant, because the grace required
is, in God’s designs, an actual grace to be given at the
opportune moment.

To realize this we have but to meditate on Thérése’s
example of supernatural indifference towards what the
morrow may bring, as expressed in the following lines.

«“ What matters it, my Lord, if the future sombre be ?
To pray Thee for the morrow—ah no, not thus my way;
Preserve my heart unstained, protect me lovingly
Just for to-day.’

Moreover, the poor in spirit, when once in possession
of God’s gifts, be they spiritual or corporeal, will guard
against assuming any proprietorship over them, for they
belong always to God, who has simply lent them and is
free to take them back as He wills. In this also Thérése,
especially towards the end of her life, will be found a
perfect model for imitation. ‘‘ Now,” she wrote, ‘I
have received the grace of being detached from the things
of heart and spirit as well as from the goods of earth.’

Finally, one who chooses the “ little way’ must be
resigned to remaining poor all her life. By this also she
will imitate the dear saint who, while multiplying her acts
of virtue, did not concern herself with storing up merits
for eternity, but laboured for Jesus alone, giving over
to Him all her good works to “ purchase souls.”’

The following declarations of Sceur Thérése de l’Enfant
Jésus will help wonderfully in the difficult task of interior

1 Mv Song of To-day. 2 Histoire d’une Ame, ch. x,

“THE LITTLE WAY OF SPIRITUAL CHILDHOOD”’ 309

despoliation, the fruits of which she extols. ‘‘'To love
Jesus,” she says, “‘ to be His victim of love, the more weak
and miserable we are, the better disposed are we for the
operations of this consuming and transforming love. . . .
The sole desire of being a victim suffices; we must, how-
ever, be always willing to remain poor and weak. Herein
lies the difficulty, for where are the truly poor in spirit
to be found? ‘'They must be sought for afar off,’ says
the author of the Imitation. ... He does not say that
they must be sought for amongst the great, but afar off

. —that is to say, in lowliness, in nothingness. ... Ah!
let us remain far away from pomp; let us love our little-
ness, let us love to feel nothing. ‘Then shall we be poor
in spirit, and Jesus will come to seek us, be we ever so far
away. He will transform us into flames of love.”?

Besides humility of heart and the spirit of poverty,
something more is required. Confidence, unbounded,
unwavering confidence in the merciful goodness of the
heavenly Father is the infallible means of inclining His
Divine Heart to compassion and bounty. With St John
of the Cross Thérése repeated from her heart: ‘‘ From
the good God we obtain all that we hope for.”

Besides, how can we refuse our confidence to that God
who, having out of His gratuitous bounty created man,
loved him even unto sacrifice on Calvary? How can
we doubt the infinite mercy of Jesus, who has pardoned
Magdalen, who opened paradise to the penitent thief,
who prayed for His very executioners? ‘Io those who
dwelt on the rigour of God’s justice in order to excite
fear, Sccur Thérése would reply with assurance: “ It is
because He is just that God is also compassionate and full
of tenderness, slow to punish and abounding in mercy,
for He knows our frailty; He remembers that we are but

dust.’”

1 Sixth letter to Sceur Marie du Sacré-Ceeur.
2 Histoire d’une Ame, ch. xii, Pp. 240.
3 Sixth letter to the missionaries.

310 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

The chief practical conclusion from this doctrine is that
a soul initiated into the “little way ’’ must confide in the
divine mercy regarding past faults, however grave and
multiplied they may have been, that she must look to the
same mercy for the pardon of her daily falls. Has not
Sceeur Thérése said that “‘ the fault thus cast with filial
confidence into the furnace of love is immediately and
wholly consumed.’

This confidence is also necessary in failure; the futility
of human actions draws pity from the Divine Heart. It
is equally required in darkness and aridity. The saint,
who, towards the end of her life, experienced all these so
poignantly, repeated in moments of direst distress: “I
turn to God and to all the saints, and I thank them in spite
of everything. I believe they wish to see how far my
confidence will go.”* She requires that the care of the
future be left with God, and in justifying that demand,
she shows what her own practice was in this matter:
“The good God has always come to my assistance; He
has led me by the hand from my tenderest years; I count
upon Him’. .:. .’

In fine, she wished that no bounds be set to our hopes
and desires of attaining to holiness, supporting her words
by reference to the merciful omnipotence of ‘‘ Him who
being Power and Holiness itself would have but to take a
soul in His arms and raise it up to Him in order to clothe
it with His infinite merits and make it holy.”* And,
asserting more definitely the efficacy of confidence even
in arriving at the highest perfection, she does not hesitate
to add: “ If weak and imperfect souls like mine felt
what I feel, not one of them would despair of reaching
the summit of the mountain of love.’’

The soulwho has chosen the “‘little way ” will endeavour

1 Fifth letter to the missionaries.

* Histoire d’une Ame, ch. xii, p. 236.

® Ibid., p. 237. « Jbid., ch. iv, p. §5:
5 Ibid., ch. xi, p. 209.

‘““THE LITTLE WAY OF SPIRITUAL CHILDHOOD” 311

above all to imitate the child in its ingenuous and warm
affection for its parents. She will try, as Thérése charm-
ingly says, to “‘ win Jesus by caresses,” to lose no occasion
of giving Him pleasure, to let slip no little sacrifice, act, or
word which would serve to show our constant affection,
not only to suffer but rejoice through love, to know how
to smile for His sake always, in everything we do and
suffer—such is the infallible way to obtain not only that
we be regarded by Him with love, but that Wwe be raised
up in His paternal arms and pressed to His Heart.

Let it not be said that this love is inaccessible to a soul
in its earthly exile. On the day of baptism it received
the mysterious seed of Divine charity; its sole duty
consists in tending and fostering that seed by personal
and constant effort, helped on by Divine assistance.

It will be objected, perhaps, that love is ‘‘ the crown of
the spiritual edifice,” that it would be illusion to com-
mence where we should finish. Yes, perfection of love, it
is true, should crown the edifice. But it isno less true that
love should direct the whole construction. Let us begin
through love, let us continue through love, and we shall
see that no better worker than love can be found for the
work of perfection. None other builds more quickly,
none more solidly, more magnificently, or more beauti-
fully, for love makes everything light and easy. To him
that loves, as St. Augustine remarks, nothing costs;
or. if perchance something does cost in the doing, love
rejoices thereat, and works with renewed ardour."

We are in possession of 'Thérése’s secret of advancing
surely on the way of perfection. But the heart of a saint,
when consumed by this love which penetrates and envelops
it with inextinguishable flames, is not satisfied with
devoting itself to Jesus on Calvary, and in the Sacred Host.
It longs to give more, to give unceasingly, to give until
it covers, if that were possible, the distance separating its
poor and feeble love from the Infinite.

1 G, Martin, La “ petite voie”’ d’enfance spirituelle, p. 53.

312 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

But a point is reached where it feels itself held back
by the limitations of its nature. If union is to become
more intimate still, and more perfect, God must intervene,
and, in His liberality, act directly on that soul. That
such intervention can take place, and that the history of
the Church holds eminent examples of such intervention,
Thérése could have no doubt, she who had so often medi-
tated on the riches of the Blessed Virgin’s soul, filled
as it was from the moment of her creation with a mar-
vellous plenitude of grace, she who had read with so much
admiration and envy the account of the sudden trans-
formation of the Apostles. Therefore, being unable to
raise herself by her own strength to the most sweet and
close intimacy with the Heart of Jesus, she had recourse
in her weakness to the “ Divine lift.”’

She recalled the memories of her infancy; she saw her-
self as a little child vainly trying to climb unaided the
stairs that led to her mother’s room. She remembered
how her mother came at her call, extended her arms, and
carried her in a few seconds to that sanctuary where her
caresses soon calmed and reassured her child. Her
mother’s arms had been her lift in reaching the first floor
of her own home; the arms of Jesus, who is a thousand
times more tender than any earthly mother, would carry
her still more swiftly and surely to the happy resting-
place amid the delights of pure love.

“‘ Herein, we believe,” says Pére Martin, “‘ lies the chief
originality of the ‘little way’ of childhood, making it
truly a ‘new way, very short and straight’ to arrive at
perfection. ‘To place oneself in the hands of God, and
in confidence, love, and abandonment, allow oneself to be
carried by Him to the highest pinnacle of charity by
means of perfect correspondence with His grace—such is
the ‘little way.’ ‘Thus it is God who does everything.
As to the soul, it follows simply with docility the interior
movements inspired by its Divine Bearer. It will rejoice
simply in being carried in His all-powerful arms.

“THE LITTLE WAY OF SPIRITUAL CHILDHOOD” 313

“ Nevertheless, it is important to note that a soul which
slumbers in indolent quietism cannot rejoice. The soul’s
rest in the arms of God does not exclude vigilance. ‘I
sleep, but my heart watcheth,”! says the Spouse of the
Canticles. ‘J sleep’ shows abandonment, ‘my heart
watcheth’ portrays the soul’s activity and correspondence
with grace. Even in the most perfect state of abandon-
ment, this grace of activity continues. It does not suffice
to surrender oneself once for all to the Divine dispensa-
tion. As the latter is unceasingly active, so must the
soul be constant in its co-operation.

“‘ The above remark was necessary in order to exclude
erroneous interpretation. But, with that reservation, we
can say definitely that when a soul has once taken its
place in the Divine ‘lift,’ the only thing required by its
heavenly Father is its unreserved surrender to His love
to be wholly consumed therein, giving itself unresistingly
into the hands of Providence to be led as He wills.’”

Such, then, as a whole, is the doctrine of perfection given
by Sceur Thérése de l’Enfant Jésus. Was this doctrine
intended exclusively for her own use, or are its fruits
reserved for certain chosen souls resolved to follow the
seraphic Carmelite in her upward flight, or again to
ingenuous souls inclined by nature towards the happy
simplicity of childhood? In other words, is the way of
spiritual childhood optional for Christians in general ?

The question doesnot even arise for those who remember
the Gospel’s explicit invitation. What is capable of
variation is the degree of love with which each soul will
practise the virtues of the “little way”’; all are not
obliged, not even all the fervent, to make that offering

1 Cant v 2.

2 G. Martin, op. cit., of. p. 69. The theory of ‘ the little
way’ of spiritual childhood that we have just given has been
taken in part from this excellent work, the best undoubtedly
that has been written up to the present on the ascetical doctrine

of St Thérése de l’Enfant Jésus.

314 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

to merciful Love which epitomizes Thérése’s relations
with Jesus. But no Christian soul can be dispensed from
practising these virtues which form an integral part of
the “‘little way”’: humility, the spirit of poverty,confidence
and filial love. To Thérése de l’Enfant Jésus belong
the incomparable merit, the everlasting glory of having,
without endeavour to conceal difficulties, presented
holiness in such an attractive light, of having shown it
to be within the reach of every soul of goodwill, even
to the lowliest and poorest."

The praise with which the Sovereign Pontiff, Benedict
XV, has honoured this method is of itself sufficient testi-
mony in its favour. At the risk of insisting perhaps too
much on the views already given, let us quote in part at
least those pages which express the most explicit and
authoritative judgement that could be desired in favour
of religious teaching.

“There is no one who, knowing anything about the
life of ‘ little Thérése,’ would not unite his voice to the
great chorus proclaiming this life to be wholly character-
ized by the merits of Spiritual Childhood. There lies the
‘secret of holiness,’ not only for the French, but for the
faithful throughout the entire world. We have, then,
reason to hope that the example of the new French
heroine will serve to increase the number of perfect
Christians, not only of her own nation, but amongst all
the sons of the Catholic Church.

“To gain this end, a right understanding of spiritual
childhood is necessary. But is not to-day’s Decree, exalt-

1 St Thérése de l’Enfant Jésus has had the singular privilege
of presenting holiness under its truly Evangelical aspect, in
divesting it of all the complications with which the human mind
had, in the course of centuries, enveloped it. Referring to this,
a learned theologian has lately said: ‘‘ St Thérése de l’Enfant
Jésus has cleared the way to heaven.”” And an eminent prince
of the Church: “‘ What I admire in this little saint is her charming
simplicity. She has excluded mathematics from our relations
with God.”

“THE LITTLE WAY OF SPIRITUAL CHILDHOOD” 315

ing as it does a fervent disciple of Carmel who attained
to the heroism of perfection by the practice of virtues that
spring from spiritual childhood, is not this Decree itself
destined to spread abroad a correct idea of what spiritual
childhood means ?

“The harmony existing between the order of sense
and that of spirit allows us to base the characteristics
of spiritual childhood on the former. Observe a child
just able to walk, who has not yet the use of speech.
If molested by another of its own age or one stronger
threaten it, or if it be frightened by some animal un-
expectedly appearing, to whom does it run for safety,
where does it seek refuge ? Inthe arms of its mother, is it
not? ... Welcomed by her and pressed to her heart,
all fears are set at rest, and heaving a sigh of which its
little lungs seemed hardly capable, it regards courageously
the object of recent alarm and trouble, and even incites
it to fight, as though saying: ‘I have nowa sure defender;
safe in my mother’s arms I abandon myself to her care,
assured not only of being protected against enemy attacks,
but also of being treated in the way best suited to
advance my physical development.’ So, likewise, is
spiritual childhood fostered by confidence in God and
trustful abandonment into His hands.

“Tt will be useful to consider the qualities of this
spiritual childhood both as regards what it excludes and
what it implies. Spiritual childhood excludes first the
sentiment of pride in oneself, the presumption of expecting
to attain by human means a supernatural end, and the
deceptive fancy of being self-sufficient in the hour of
danger and temptation. On the other hand, it supposes
a lively faith in the existence of God, a practical acknow-
ledgement of His power and mercy, confident recourse
to Him who grants the grace to avoid all evil and obtain
all good. Thus the qualities of this spiritual childhood
are admirable, whether we consider their negative aspect
or study them in their positive bearing, and we thereby

316 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

understand why our Saviour Jesus Christ has laid it down
as a necessary condition for gaining eternal life.

“‘ One day the Saviour took a little child from the crowd,
and showing him to His disciples, He said: ‘ Amen I say
to you, unless you be converted and become as little
children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.”
O eloquent lesson, which destroyed the error and ambi-
tion of those who, looking on the kingdom of heaven as
an earthly empire, desired to occupy the first places, or
sought to be the greatest there. Quis, putas, major est in
regno ceélorum? And as if to make it still more clear
that pre-eminence in heaven will be the privilege of
spiritual childhood, the Saviour continued in these terms:
‘ Whosoever therefore shall humble himself and become like
to this little child, he shall be the greater in the kingdom
of heaven. Another day certain mothers drew near and
presented their children that He might touch them, and
when the disciples would drive them away, Jesus said
with indignation: ‘ Suffer little children to come to Me
and forbid them not; the kingdom of heaven is for such.’
And here as before He concluded: ‘ Amen I say to you,
whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little
child shall not enter into it. Quisquis non receperit
regnum Dei velut parvulus, non intrabit in illud.

“It isimportant to notice the force of thesedivine words,
for the Son of God did not deem it sufficient to affirm
positively that the kingdom of heaven is for children—
Talium est enim regnum celorum—or that he who will
become as a little child shall be the greater in heaven, but
He explicitly threatens exclusion from heaven. for those
who will not become like unto children. Now, when a
master expounds a lesson under several different forms,
does he not wish to signify by this multiplicity that he has
that lesson especially at heart? If he seeks so earnestly
by this means to inculcate it, it is that he desires by one
or other expression to make it the more clearly understood.

1 Matt. xviii 3. 2 Mark x 15.

“THE LITTLE WAY OF SPIRITUAL CHILDHOOD” 317

We must then conclude that the Divine Master was par-
ticularly anxious that His disciples should see in spiritual
childhood the necessary condition for obtaining life
eternal.

“ Considering the insistence and force of this teaching,
it would seem impossible to find a soul who would still
neglect to follow the way of confidence and abandonment,
all the more so, we repeat, since the divine words, not
only in a general manner, but in express terms, declare
this mode of life obligatory, even for those who have lost
their first innocence. Some prefer to believe that the
way of confidence and abandonment is reserved solely for
ingenuous souls whom evil has not deprived of the grace
of childhood. ‘They do not conceive the possibility of
spiritual childhood to those who have lost their first inno-
cence. But do not the Divine Master’s words, Nisz
converst fueritis et efficiamini sicut parvuli, indicate to them
the necessity of change and of work? isi converst
fueritis points out the change which must be effected in
Christ’s disciples in order to become as little children once
more. And who should once more become a child if not
he who is so no longer? Nisé efficiamini sicut parvult
indicates the work, for we know that a man must work
to become and appear what he has never been, or what he
is not at present. But since a man must necessarily
have been a child at one time, the words Nisi efficiamint
sicut parvuli inculcate the obligation of work in order to
regain the gifts of childhood. Any such thought as that
of reassuming the appearance and helplessness of early
years would be ridiculous; but it is not contrary to reason
to find in the words of the Gospel the precept addressed
alike to men of advanced years to return to the practice of
spiritual childhood.

‘During the course of the centuries, this teaching
was to find increased support in the example of those who
arrived at heroic Christian perfection precisely by the
exercise of these virtues. Holy Church has ever extolled

318 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

these examples in order to make the Master’s command
better understood and more universally followed. ‘To-day,
again, she has no other end in view when she proclaims
as heroic the virtues of Sceur Thérése de l’Enfant Jésus.’”*

Impossible to improve upon this masterly exposition.
After thus outlining the theory proposed by the dear saint,
we must now study its realization in her own life. How
has she herself practised the virtues she declares essential
to the “‘ little way ’’? How has she finally delivered her-
self up as a victim to Merciful Love, abandoning herself
wholly to God’s paternal providence ? We shall review
these briefly, before recalling the circumstances which
marked the end of her mortal life.

1 Discourse of His Holiness Pope Benedict XV on the
occasion of Promulgation of the Decree regarding the heroicity
of her virtues, August 14, 1921.

His Holiness Pius XI was later to speak with no less praise
of the “‘ little way ”’ in his homily at the canonization ceremony.

“We to-day conceive the hope of seeing spring up in the
souls of Christ’s faithful a holy eagerness to acquire this evan-
gelical childhood, which consists in feeling and acting under
the empire of virtue as a child feels and acts in the natural order.

“If this way of spiritual childhood became general, who
does not see how easily that reform of human society would
take place which we set before us in the early days of our
Pontificate and in promulgating this solemn Jubilee ?

“We offer, then, as our own this prayer of the new saint,
Thérése de VEnfant Jésus, with which she terminates her
precious Autobiography:

*** O Jesus, we beseech Thee to cast Thy divine eyes upon
a great number of little souls, and to choose out of this world
a legion of little victims worthy of Thy love.’””—May 17, 1925.

CHAPTER XIII

THE VIRTUES OF THE ‘“‘ LITTLE WAY” IN PRACTICE:
HUMILITY, SIMPLICITY, SPIRITUAL POVERTY, CON-
FIDENCE—THERESE’S CONSECRATION TO MERCIFUL
LOVE, AND ITS EFFECT ON HER LIFE.

HE “little way of childhood ”’ is based on humility.

Feeling herself weak and incapable of all good,

seeing herself ‘ unable,” as she said, ‘‘to climb
the rugged steps of perfection,” the young saint threw
herself into the arms of the good God and established
there her dwelling.?

Let us consider some of the steps in her ascent, noting
her principal supports.

Simplicity accompanies humility of whichit is the charm
and the aroma. We shall see what an attractive grace
this virtue gave to her least actions. We shall then give
some new examples of that spiritual poverty and confidence
in God which, wholly penetrated as they were by a love
that approached ever nearer to perfect union, preceded
Thérése’s consecration to ‘‘ the Merciful Love of the Good
God.” In this consecration we cannot but recognize the
surest means and the most striking manifestation of this
supernatural union. Finally, we shall briefly note the
principal forms of this effective love in the predestined soul
who surrendered herself unreservedly to Divine Providence
and desired to give without measure—namely abandon-
ment and zeal for the glory and joy of her celestial Spouse.

These virtues of humility, detachment, confidence, and
abandonment shone especially in the life of St Thérése

1 Histoire d’une Ame, ch. ix, p. 154.
319

320 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

de l’Enfant Jésus in the solitude of Carmel, and it is in
the silent cloister that we shall now seek for their most
characteristic manifestations. But it should be remem-
bered that those virtues had also adorned her childhood,
and had preserved the years of her youth from all taint
of the worldly spirit.

The reader will have observed the numerous passages
where Thérése protests her littleness before God, her
weakness and nothingness. But she proposed to draw
down on herself, by other means than mere words, the
eyes of her Heavenly Father, which naturally turn towards
His little ones. Her love for what she called her lowliness,
and her desire for humiliation had been remarked in the
world; in Carmel she gave reiterated and daily proof of
these same virtues, of which we shall pick out a few of the
principal manifestations.

We know what she had to suffer from the state of
humiliation to which Providence had reduced her father,
and with what resignation of heart she declared this catas-
trophe to be the most precious sign of the Saviour’s
mercy. Other occasions of humiliation arose in her
community life and became through her virtue motives
of spiritual joy. Her fellow-worker in a duty assigned
to her was an invalid who did not content herself with
merely exercising 'Thérése’s patience by her eccentricities
of character. ‘The young nun had sometimes to endure
her bitter reproaches. And this is how she received them.
“One day,” relates a novice, ‘when I went to Sceur
Thérése de l’Enfant Jésus for advice, she came to me
looking quite radiant. I asked her why she was so happy.
She replied: ‘I have been with Sister X., and she told
me everything that displeased her in me. She thinks,
perhaps, that she has caused me pain; but no; on the
contrary, she has given me pleasure. How I wish to meet
her again, so as to greet her with asmile |’ At that moment
someone knocked at the door. It was the very Sister in
question. Thérése received her with sweet affability,

THE VIRTUES OF THE “‘ LITTLE Way ”’ 321

just as if they had been exchanging compliments during
the preceding hours.”

To an old nun who expressed astonishment at seeing
her, though only twenty, charged with the formation of
the novices, and remarked disapprovingly that at her age
she had perhaps more need of learning how to direct
herself than of assuming the direction of others, the young
saint replied with angelic sweetness: ‘‘ Ah, Sister, you
are indeed right; I am even far more imperfect than you
imagine.”

Humble and gentle under unmerited reproaches, she
was much more so if it happened that, by inadvertence,
she caused pain to one of her companions. “I have
seen her,’ says Mére Agnés de Jésus, “‘ ask pardon with
touching humility of the Sisters to whom she believed she
had caused pain. Addressing one of them during her
last illness, she said with holy fervour: ‘Oh, I sincerely
ask your pardon. Pray for me.’ And large tear-
drops rolled down her pale cheeks.” This act of
humility accomplished, she recovered all her serenity,
and a few days before her death, she said to Mére Agnes:
“‘T experience very great joy not only in knowing that
I am considered imperfect, but above all in realizing
how great is my misery, and in feeling that I have so much
need of God’s mercy at the moment of death.’

She fearlessly exposes in her conferences with the
novices the depths to which a truly religious soul should
abase itself in order to find its true place before God.

* To be humble,” she said to a Sister placed under her
direction, ‘‘ we must joyfully consent to the commands
of all. When a service is asked of you, or when you tend
the sick and find any who are not of an agreeable disposi-
tion, you should consider yourself as a little slave whom
everyone has the right to command.’® And she took
great care on her own part to fortify herself against self-

1 Summarium of 1919, p. 309, § 758.
3 Ibid., p. 413, § 1043.
21

322 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

esteem which could easily result from the manifestly
high place she held in the opinion of those around her.

To the novices’ words of flattery she remained indif-
ferent. ‘‘ These,” she said, ‘“‘mean nothing to me. I
am in reality what the good God thinksIam.... You
envy me. But do you not know that I am very poor?
It is the good God who gives me all according as I need
it.’ She expressed the same thought in the Histoire
dune Ame: ‘‘ All creatures may turn towards the ‘little
flower,’ admire her, heap praises upon her—all this is
powerless to add a single atom of false joy to the true
happiness she feels in her soul in realizing what she is in
the eyes of God, a poor, insignificant little creature, no-
thing more.’’' And later she confirmed this opinion on
hearing extolled the graces and favours she had received
from the Almighty. ‘‘ I think that Iam the fruit, perhaps,
of the desires of an unknown soul to whom I shall owe all
the graces given me by the good God.’”

Not that Sceur Thérése de |’Enfant Jésus failed to recog-
nize God’s generosity towards her. Had she not freely
written to Abbé Belliére: “Think not that humility
prevents me from recognizing the gifts of God. I know
that He has done great things in me, and I sing of them
every day with joy.’* But she understood that the gifts
of God in her did not lessen her own weakness and
insufficiency.

She thus became in the religious life ever more lowly
in her own eyes, ever more desirous of oblivion and con-
tempt. Her illness, in lessening her physical powers,
was to furnish her with fresh occasions for humbling
herself.

A Sister who had often experienced her kindness asked
her one day to do some painting for her. Thérése was
already very weak and unable to accede to such a desire
without extreme fatigue. Mére Agnés de Jésus, who

teChy 1X) ps 152% 2 Summarium of 1919, p. 412, § 1042.
® Unpublished letter of April 25, 1897.

THE VIRTUES OF THE ‘‘ LITTLE WAY ”’ 323

was present, pointed out to the Sister that the invalid was
consumed by fever, and that work requiring application
would exhaust her. The nun insisted. A struggle then
ensued in Thérése’s soul, and, in spite of herself, her face
became slightly flushed from the inward strife. She felt
that her sister had noticed her emotion. Was there not
occasion for the little invalid to accuse herself of want of
courage? ‘That evening she addressed the following
lines to Mére Agnés: “ Just now your child has shed sweet
tears, tears of repentance, but still more of thankfulness
and love. To-day, I have shown you my virtue, my
treasures of patience, I who preach so well to others !
I am glad you have seen my imperfection. ... You
did not chide me. . . . I deserved it nevertheless. But
ever and always your gentleness has meant more to me
than severe words; you are for me the symbol of Divine
Mercy. Oh, my beloved Mother, I confess that I am
far more happy through having been imperfect than if,
sustained by grace, I had been a model of patience. It
does me good to see that Jesus always is so gentle, so tender
towards me. I feel I could in truth die of thankfulness
and love.”

The nearer she approached the end, the more did she
become penetrated with the sense of her unworthiness,
even giving expression to outbursts of compunction which
drew tears from those around.

One morning, when holy Communion was brought to
her, she experienced at the moment of the Confiteor an
extraordinary sentiment of humility. After her thanks-
giving, she said to Mére Agnés de Jésus: “I saw Our
Saviour about to give Himself to me, and this humble
confession seemed so necessary! ... I felt myself,
like the publican, a great sinner. I thought the good God
so merciful! When I felt the sacred Host on my lips,
I shed tears. I believe those were tears of perfect con-
trition.”” And she added in earnest tones: ‘“‘ Ah, how

1 Summarium of 1919, p. 309, § 759.

324 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

impossible it is to arouse such sentiments in oneself !
The Holy Spirit alone can produce them in the soul.”?

But see what may be called the crowning point in a life
of entire abnegation. Amongst those who had access to
Thérése in her last illness was a lay Sister who, having
merely seen her perform punctually things which seemed
so ordinary, found it difficult to understand that a high
opinion could be entertained of her virtue. She offered
some food one day to the dying Sister which would in-
fallibly have brought on vomiting. The latter gently
refused it, gave as her reason the danger of what might
follow, and asked that she might be excused. The tem-
porary infirmarian showed displeasure at this refusal,
though so gentle and so fully justified, and she went so far
as to say to some one afterwards: ‘‘1 do not know why
they talk so much of Sceur Thérése de l’Enfant Jésus;
she does nothing remarkable; one cannot even say that
she is exactly a good religious.”

When the dear saint was told of this remark, her face lit
up with a smile. Shortly afterwards, she confided her
happiness at being thus misunderstood to a Sister of solid
virtue who had come to visit her. “ 'To hear on my bed
of death that I am not a good religious, what joy !”’

Recalling the scene later, this Sister declared: ‘‘ It is
the most edifying souvenir that I have retained of the
Servant of God.’”

Thus she who had always sought the last place, who,
while directing the novices of her community, had desired
to remain to the end as one of themselves, who on every
occasion had declared her nothingness, was to end, in the
sacred joy of the humiliations of Calvary, her life which
had been entirely hidden from the world, and for the
greater part unknown by many of her companions in
the cloister. Her weakness and her lowliness, accepted,
desired and loved, had given her sure access to the “ little

1 Summarium of 1919, p. 310, § 760.
2 Tbtd. 5 7.3, SeLOLO,

THE VIRTUES OF THE “‘ LITTLE Way ”’ 325

way ”’ which was so soon to lead her to the summit of
pure love, towards which she advanced with a train of
other virtues as well.

Her simplicity placed an aureole of exquisite charm even
around those actions of hers which, closely examined,
presented the character of austerity or heroism. ‘‘ How
simple it is to love Thee, my Saviour !”” she writes. And
this child, so near to our ordinary lives, found means
almost from her infancy of investing with the highest
supernatural value the humblest actions of earth, and of
offering to Jesus the love of a saint from amidst her
playthings—her doll, her bird-cage, her bowl of goldfish,
her butterfly-net. Later on, it is in plying her needle,
in sweeping the cloister, and washing rough clothing
that she will adorn with sparkling jewels the nuptial robe
destined for her by her Divine Spouse. Her chief instru-
ment of penance was an austere rule practised silently
at each moment of every day during the long months
of nine years. Her favourite book, that book which led
her into the most secret dwelling-place of the Holy of
holies, was not a treatise of high mysticism, nor a
dissertation on the different stages of contemplation; it
was the Imitation, with its unction so accessible and so
sweet to the humble of heart. But before all others came
the Gospels in their divine simplicity, so that when there
was question later on of setting down in the conventional
phrases of asceticism the different phases of her interior
life, the learned found not where to assign place therein
to the ‘‘ prayer of quiet,” or the “spiritual nuptials.”
Everything in her life had been simple, natural, without
noise, without learned terminology. What she had done
is within the power of all, provided they remember always
that—

* A lowly life, with small and tedious actions filled,
Is precious toil, enjoining heart-filled love.”+

1 Verlaine.

326 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

Childlike simplicity, joined to the weakness of infancy,
moves a father’s heart. But he turns more lovingly still,
as we know, towards his little child on reflecting that it
has nothing of its own, that it can acquire nothing of itself,
but looks to him for everything.

Sceeur Thérése was fully conscious of this, she who, a
short time before her death, said to Mére Agnés de Jésus:
“J have found great consolation in the thought that
never in my spiritual life have I been able to pay back a
single one of my debts to the good God, but that this meant
for me real riches and strength; then I recalled the words
of St John of the Cross, and repeated with indescribable
peace the same prayer: ‘ Oh, my God, I beseech Thee to
pay all my debts for me.’ ””?

From whence did such assurance come? From her
entire despoliation which she spoke of joyously as her
greatest wealth, since it was to procure for her the treasures
of the Heart of Jesus.

““ Nothing remains in my hands,” she said. ‘ Every-
thing I get is for the Church and souls.’? On this, then,
she founded her undying hope.

Wishing that others might appreciate them too, she
extolled the advantages spiritual poverty had gained
for her. She endeavoured to fortify her novices against
dejection at the sight of their own deficiencies. ‘To one
of them in particular she said: “ You are quite little;
remember that. And one who is quite little has no need
of ‘ beautiful thoughts.’ ”’

One day when she had told her sister of a pious though
which to the latter seemed original and of deep significa-
tion, Céline expressed regret that such thoughts did not
come to her. ‘‘ The good God,” replied Thérése, ‘‘ well
knows the beautiful thoughts and ingenious ideas which we
would like to have.”

“Yes, but you feel very tenderly towards the good God,

1 Summarium of 1919, p. 265, § 630.
* Conversation with Céline, July 12, 1897.

THE VIRTUES OF THE ‘‘ LITTLE WAY ”’ 327

whereas I do not. Yet I so much wish it. Perhaps my
desire will supply for it.”

“ Certainly it will, especially if you accept the humilia-
tion of this deficiency, if you even go so far as to rejoice
in it. That will give more pleasure to Jesus than if you
had never been wanting in tenderness. Say: ‘ My God,
I thank Thee that I have not a single tender feeling, and I
rejoice to see them in others.’ ”

The parable of the labourers who had worked but one
hour in the vineyard, and whom the master of the house-
hold rewarded equally with the others, charmed her.
“* You see,”’ she said, “‘ that if we abandon ourselves, if we
place our confidence in the good God, exerting our own
feeble efforts and placing all hope in His mercy, we shall
be rewarded and paid as much as the greatest saints.”

Happy in seeing herself despoiled for the Church and
souls even of her most precious spiritual treasures, the
dear saint rejoiced with greater reason at finding herself
deprived of all sensible sweetness in her relations with her
Divine Master. Thérése understood that he loves God
purely who has sacrificed the too personal satisfaction of
feeling that love. Love does not consist in sensible feeling,
but in self-forgetfulness. Listen to Thérése’s words:
** My consolation is to have no consolation on earth.’

“She will walk henceforth in the bleak night. She
will suffer a veritable martyrdom of body and soul.
Made naturally for love, her extreme tenderness of heart
and the delicacy of her feelings seem to call for torrents
of Divine tenderness. Yet she will have naught to sustain
her but cold, bare, and clouded faith. ... ‘ To suffer-
ing,’ she says, ‘I have become accustomed to respond
with a smile.’ She tastes no longer the least pleasure,
but she is fixed in happiness.’

1 Summarium of 1919, p. 610, §§ 1773, 1774.

2 Histoire d'une Ame, ue Xi, p. 208.

3 Louis Théolier, Thérese de V Enfant Fésus: Meditation on
the Grandeur of Spiritual Childhood, Religious Studies (May 5,
1923).

328 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

The joyous acceptance of insufficiency supposes in the
poor in spirit an absolute confidence in Him who is
able by a single act to enrich them. It would be useless
to multiply the declarations by which our Saint has
affirmed her trustful faith in Divine assistance. We will
merely add some further characteristic details, with
purpose to show this confidence in its active manifesta-
tion, confidence which she had at all times practised
before preaching.

She felt assured that God would always bless her efforts
if she on her part neglected no duty. During her father’s
illness, she showed a calmness and spiritual contentment
which caused those around her to wonder. She wrote
at the time to Céline: “‘ Life is but a dream. Soon we
shall awaken, and what joy that will be! The greater
our sufferings are, the brighter will be our glory with
God.”

Discouragement never got any hold over her. The
frailty she felt in herself, the terrible aridity of soul which
threatened to sap her energy were met by only more
assiduous practice of her difficult duties.

Persuaded that we should never be afraid of desiring
or asking too much, she said with conviction: ‘‘ We must
say to the good God, ‘ 1 know well I shall never be worthy
of that for which I hope, but I stretch out my hands to
Thee like a little beggar, and I am confident that Thou
» wilt grant all I ask, because Thou art so good.”

When she did not, apparently at least, obtain anything
after long and fervent prayer, she would thank Our Saviour
and the saints for having exercised her patience for her
greater good.

The Communion of saints was for her a powerful
motive of hope. On this subject she one day unfolded
to her sister Céline a theory based on solid ascetical
authority which may be a source of great encouragement
in the struggle for perfection. Sceur Genevieve de la

1 Summarium of 1919, pp. 594-595, §§ 1708-1713.

THE VIRTUES OF THE “‘ LITTLE WAY ”’ 329

Sainte-Face found in Thérése’s virtues an incentive to
salutary emulation. Once, in the course of conversation,
she naively said to her: “‘ What I envy you are your works
of zeal. I wish I could compose beautiful poetry like
yours which would make God loved. . . .”

“‘ Ah,” replied the saint, ‘‘ we should not be anxious
about such things. No, we should not grieve over our
powerlessness, but apply ourselves solely to love... .
If, however, we do feel too much distressed on account
of this poverty in ourselves, let us offer to the good God
the works of others. That it is possible to get them
accepted in this way is a benefit that comes from the
Communion of saints. Tauler has said: ‘ If I love the
good that is in my neighbour as well as he loves it himself,
this good belongs to me as well as to him. By this com-
munion, I can be enriched with all the perfection which
is in heaven and on earth, in the angels and in all who love
God.’ You see,” she added, “‘ you will do as much as
I, and even more, when, with the desire to do the good
you see me or others do, you accomplish through love
the humblest action, when, for example, you overcome
your repugnance and render a slight service.”

She committed to God the care of her health as well as
the interests of her soul. ‘‘ The good God sees all,” she
said. ‘‘ I abandon myself to Him. He knows well how
to inspire our Mother to see that I am looked after should
it be necessary.’

She wished to see this confidence also in the hearts of
her novices. One of these met with strong opposition
in the community when the time came for her admission
to profession. At the moment when everything seemed
hopeless, Thérése asked her: “‘ Are you confident of suc-
ceeding in spite of all ?”

‘Yes, I am convinced that I shall obtain this grace,
and nothing can shake my confidence.”

1 Summarium of 1919, p. 594, § 1706.
* Ibid., p. 493, § 1333-

330 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

Then in a tone of conviction, Thérése said: ‘‘ Hold
fast your confidence. It is impossible for the good God
not to respond to it, for He ever measures His gifts by
our hope in Him. Nevertheless, I admit that if I had
seen you waver, I would have felt doubtful myself, as,
from the human point of view, all hope is lost.”

The novice was admitted and became a fervent religious.

In order to appreciate the merit of such acts, we should
remember in the midst of what darkness they were often
produced. Sceur Thérése de l’Enfant Jésus had to under-
go, as we know, a terrible temptation against faith, and
consequently against hope, a temptation lasting not less
than eighteen months. Her soul, at that time, passed
through a crisis, during which heaven seemed closed to
her, leaving her in profound darkness. But it was then
especially that she multiplied her acts of confidence and
abandonment to God. “I saw her at this period of her
life,”’ writes R. P. Godefrey Madelaine. ‘‘ Judging from
the exterior, no one could guess the pain that was within.
I asked her how she was able thus to hide the trial she was
undergoing. ‘I try,’ she said, ‘ not to let others suffer
on account of my pain. It is known only to God, to our
Mother Prioress, and to the confessor of the convent.’ ’”!

Moreover, it was in the midst of this temptation regard-
ing particularly the existence of heaven that Thérése
expressed most ardently the hope and desire of eternal
happiness. She was already seriously ill when she learned
that the doctor who attended the community had said
regarding her: ‘‘ Out of a hundred persons attacked as
‘she is, perhaps two at most might have a chance of
recovery.’ Addressing one of her sisters, Thérése gaily
remarked: “ What a misfortune if I were going to be one
of those two !””

“Then you are not afraid of death ?”

“On the contrary, it frightens me greatly when I see
it represented in pictures as a spectre. But death is not

1 Summarium of 1919, p. 528, § 1424.

THE VIRTUES OF THE “‘ LITTLE WAY ”’ 773

a spectre. To have an idea of death, I need only recall
the answer in my catechism. ‘ Death is the separation
of soul and body.’ Well, I do not fear a separation which
will reunite me for ever to the good God.’’!

Thus spoke this soul, though tortured by the bitterest
agony of doubt regarding the reality of the future towards
ae she soared with all the strength of her love and

aith.

The dear saint knew besides that neither hope, even
heroic hope, nor spiritual poverty, nor simplicity, nor
humility could, without love, win the Heart of the
Divine Spouse. Thus every act of virtue performed by
” was impregnated and, as it were, embalmed with
ove.

Thérése de l’Enfant Jésus has then not only taught
and preached her “little way”; she has first travelled
every step of it herself. She has consequently struggled
through all its rough places like the humblest of “ little
souls.” She walked the more securely therein, and
invites others to follow her with all the more conviction
since according to her own avowal, this way was pointed
out expressly to her by the Divine Master Himself.
“‘ It is Jesus alone,” she affirms, ‘‘ who has instructed me.
No book, no theologian taught me; yet I feel in the depths
of my heart that I am in the right.”

This upward march meant each day new progress
in Divine union. By “ strewing before Jesus the flowers
of little sacrifices,” that is to say, by renunciation through
humility and detachment, and by manifesting to her
heavenly Father that filial confidence which rendered
her love more and more tender, the young maiden arrived
at a rare degree of intimacy with Jesus. But was not
the Spouse on whom she lavished her affections the Jesus
of Bethlehem, of Nazareth and of Golgotha? And must
she not raise herself up, even to the Cross, to receive
His loving embrace? How, then, could she worthily

1 Summarum of 1919, p. 596, § 1716.

332 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

love a God who for man’s redemption became a slave and
poor, was born in a stable, lived in a workman’s shop and
died on a gibbet, without giving her body, her soul, and
her life for Him, for His honour, the extension of His
Kingdom, and for those souls for whose sake He had de-
livered Himself to the executioners ?

In the measure in which Thérése’s love for Jesus in-
creased, this Jesus who had delivered Himself for her and
to whom she had consecrated her life, she felt growing
within her the thirst for devotedness, the desire of sacri-
fice, the need of union between the little flame that burned
within her and the consuming fire of the Divine Heart,
which the most glorious dreams of immolation could not
express nor satisfy.

Then it was that she wrote these lines in the Histoire
d’une Ame, lines said to have been written in her blood,
and which, since the Ego libentissime impendam of St
Paul, constitute perhaps the most Divinely impassioned
apostolic cry that has ever come from human lips.

“To be Thy spouse, O Jesus, to be a Carmelite, to be,
by my union with Thee, the mother of souls, all this should
satisfy me. Nevertheless I find within me other vocations.
I find the vocation of soldier, of priest, of apostle, of
doctor, and of martyr... . I long to accomplish all that is
most heroic; I feel within me the courage of a Crusader;
gladly would I die on the battle-field in defence of the
Church.

“The priestly vocation! . . . With what love, O Jesus,
would I bear ‘Thee in my hands, when my words had
brought Thee down from heaven. With what love would
I give Thee to souls. But, alas, while desiring to be a
priest, I admire and envy the humility of St Francis of
Assisi, and I feel the call to imitate him in his refusal of
the sublime dignity of the priesthood. How, then, can
these contrary desires be reconciled? .. .

“‘T would enlighten souls as did the prophets and doctors
of the Church. I would travel the earth, O my beloved,

THE VIRTUES OF THE “‘ LITTLE WAY ”’ 333

to preach Thy Holy Name, and plant Thy Cross in heathen
lands. But one mission would not satisfy me. I would
wish to proclaim Thy Gospel at the same time in all parts
of the world, even in the most remote of its islands.
I would desire to be a missionary, and that not only for a
few years, but from the very creation of the world until
the very end of time.

*“ Above all, I long to be a martyr. Martyrdom! That
was the dream of my youth. This dream has grown
in my little Carmelite cell. But here, again, is folly,
for I desire not one kind of suffering only; I will not
be satisfied with less than all. Like Thee, my adored
Spouse, I would be scourged and crucified.... I would
be flayed like St Bartholomew, plunged into boiling oil
like St John; like St Ignatius of Antioch, I would be
ground by the teeth of wild beasts, thus to become a
bread worthy of God. With St Agnes and St Cecilia,
I would offer my neck to the sword, and, like Joan of Arc,
murmur the name of Jesus as I burned at the stake.

“When my thoughts turn to the frightful torments
which will be the lot of Christians in the days of Anti-
christ, my heart leaps with emotion, and I wish that they
were reserved for me. Open, O my Jesus, Thy Book of
Life wherein are recorded all the deeds of the saints. How
I lang to have accomplished those same deeds for 'Thee!

“What wilt Thou reply to all these follies? Is there
on earth a soul weaker, more powerless than mine?
Yet, by reason of that very weakness hou hast been
pleased to grant all my childish desires, and to-day Thou
wilt fulfil other longings, greater than the universe. ...”

Anxious to find out the secret of these aspirations,
which could not have existed without some object,
since God Himself had inspired them, Thérése had re-
course to the Epistles of St Paul. She there noticed the
following invitation : “‘ Be zealous for the better gifts. And
I shew unto you yet a more excellent way.”?

2: Core xii/3s

334 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

And this way, more excellent, according to the Apostle,
than the apostolate, or than martyrdom itself, is no other
than Jove. Henceforth, Thérése could find some repose.
She understood that love performs the heart’s func-
tions in the mystical body of the Church, that consequently
it alone vivifies the members, that, “‘ if love were extinct,
apostles would no longer preach the Gospel, nor martyrs
shed their blood.” She saw clearly too that “‘ love com-
prises in itself every vocation, that love is all, extending
over all time, including every place, because it is eternal.”

Then in an outburst of rapture, the young maiden
cries out with seraphic ardour: ‘‘ O Jesus, my Love, I have-
at length discovered my vocation. My vocation zs love.
Yes, I have found my place in the bosom of the Church,
and this place Thou, O my God, hast given me. In the
heart of the Church, my mother, I shall be love.... Thus
I shall be all. ‘Thus will my dream be realized.’”?

What must have been the burning charity in the heart
of a simple creature which could enable it to embrace
the entire world in its devotedness, urging it to accomplish
at the same time the office of priesthood, the labours of
doctors, the immolation of martyrs? Human love alone
could never prove sufficient; the love of God Himself
was required, elevating to Him, penetrating, assimilating
and making godlike the love of His child; this and this
alone could work such marvels. ‘To attain to that charity,
that sublime dream inspired by God, Thérése had need
again of a “‘lift.’ This indispensable lift, required to
raise finite love beyond its natural limits and unite it to
the Divine, was supplied by Jesus Himself, her ‘‘ Divine
Eagle ”’ who carried her on His own wings. _

‘This union of two loves in a transforming and deifying
furnace is principally and properly God’s work. But,
with the help of Divine grace, it is also the work of the
creature who submits herself willingly to those furnace-
flames in order that she may be consumed.

1 Histoire d’une Ame, ch. xi, p. 213 and the following.

-
5
i

THE VIRTUES OF THE ‘‘ LITTLE WAY ”’ 335

This Act, so elevated and holy, so meritorious and fruit-
ful, was pronounced by Thérése de |’Enfant Jésus on the
feast of the Holy Trinity, June 9, 1895. She called it her
“* Act of oblation as victim of holocaust to the Merciful Love
of the Good God.”

It sprang spontaneously from her soul during holy Mass.

*O my Divine Master,” she thought, “shall Thy Justice
alone receive victims of holocaust ? Has not Thy merciful
Love itself need of them? Everywhere it is ignored,
rejected. ... The hearts Thou dost desire to fill with
Thy love turn to creatures, seeing their happiness in the
- miserable affection of an hour, instead of throwing them-
selves into Thine arms, and accepting the sweet consuming
fire of Thine infinite love.

“O my God, is Thy rejected love to remain in Thy
Heart? I think that if Thou shouldst find souls offering
themselves as victims of holocaust to Thy Love,'Thou wouldst
consume them rapidly, Thou wouldst be happy in not
having to hold back the flames of infinite tenderness
which are pent up in Thee.

“If Thy Justice, so far as it is confined to earth, is
pleased to avenge itself on voluntary victims, how much
more does Thy merciful Love desire to inflame souls since
Thy mercy reacheth to the clouds.

“O Fesus, may I be that happy victim! Consume Thy
little victim by the fire of Divine Love.”

Without reserve, following the generous leading of her
heart, the dear saint surrendered herself. But reflecting
on the new and far-reaching import of such an oblation,
she wished through obedience to submit it to her Mother
Prioress for consent before binding herself irrevocably,
and even before defining that offering in words. Mére
Agnés de Jésus was then prioress, and Thérése came to
her at the end of the thanksgiving, her face aglow with
heavenly fervour. Mére Agnés gave her the desired
authorization, without however appearing to attach special
- importance to the matter. The saint then expressed her

336 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

burning aspirations in a definite formula, the last lines
of which seem to echo a seraphic hymn. This done, she
desired that her offering might be revised and approved
by a theologian.

We give this act of oblation, as found after her death
in a copy of the Holy Gospels which she carried night and
day near her heart: ‘‘O my God, Most Blessed Trinity,
I desire to love Thee and to make Thee loved, to labour
for the glory of Holy Church by saving souls on earth
and by delivering those who suffer in Purgatory. I desire
to accomplish Thy Will perfectly and to attain to the degree
of glory which Thou hast prepared for me in Thy King-
dom; in a word, I long to be a saint, but I know that
I am powerless, and I implore Thee, O my God, to be
Thyself my sanctity.

“Since Thou hast so loved me as to give me Thine
only Son to be my Saviour and my Spouse, the infinite
treasures of His merits are mine; to Thee I offer them
with joy, beseeching Thee to behold me only through
the eyes of Jesus and in His Heart burning with love.

“ Again, I offer Thee all the merits of the saints, in
heaven and on earth, their acts of love and those of the
holy angels; finally, I offer Thee, O Blessed Trinity,
the love and the merits of the holy Virgin, my most dear
Mother; to her I entrust my oblation, begging her to
present it to ‘Thee.

“Her Divine Son, my well-beloved Spouse, during the
days of His life on earth, told us: ‘ If you ask the Father
anything in My Name, He will give it to you.+ I am then
certain that Thou wilt hearken to my desires. My God,
I know it; the more 'Thou willest to give, the more dost
Thou make us desire.

‘“‘ Immense are the desires that I feel within my heart,
and with confidence I call upon Thee to come and
take possession of my soul. I cannot receive Thee in
Holy Communion as often as I would; but, Lord, art

1 John xvi, 23.

THE VIRTUES OF THE ‘“‘ LITTLE WAY ”’ ERY

Thou not Almighty? Remain in me as in the Taber-
nacle; never leave Thy little victim.

“I long to console Thee for the ingratitude of the
wicked, and I pray Thee to take from me the power to
displease Thee. If through frailty I sometimes fall,
may Thy Divine glance purify my soul immediately,
consuming every imperfection, as fire transforms all
things into itself.

“I thank Thee, O my God, for all the graces Thou hast
showered on me, in particular for having made me pass
through the crucible of suffering. With joy shall I
behold Thee on the last day bearing Thy sceptre the Cross.
Since Thou hast deigned to give me for my portion this
most precious cross, I have hope of resembling Thee in
heaven, and of seeing the sacred stigmata of Thy passion
shine in my glorified body.

“After exile on earth, I hope to enjoy possession of 'Thee
in the eternal Fatherland; but I have no wish to amass
merits for heaven; I will work for Thy love alone, my sole
aim being to give Thee pleasure, to console Thy Sacred
Heart, and to save souls who will love Thee for
ever.

** At the close of life’s day, I shall appear before ‘Thee
with empty hands, for I ask not, Lord, that Thou wouldst
count my works. ... All our justice is tarnished in Thy
sight; I therefore desire to be clothed with Thine own
Justice, and to receive from Thy love the eternal possession
of Thyself. I crave no other throne, no other crown but
Thee, O my Beloved.

“In Thy sight time is nothing; one day is as a thousand
years.' ‘Thou canst in an instant prepare me to appear
before Thee.

“That my life may be one act of perfect love, I offer
myself as a Victim of Holocaust to Thy Merciful Love,
imploring Thee to consume me unceasingly, and to let
the floodtide of infinite tenderness, pent up in Thee,

IEG. RsSixxxixes,
22

338 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

flow into my soul, that so I may become a very martyr
of Thy love, O my God.

“May this martyrdom, having first prepared me to
appear before Thee, break life’s thread at last, and may
my soul take its flight unhindered to the eternal embrace
of Thy merciful Love.

‘I desire, O my Beloved, at every heart-beat, to renew
this oblation an infinite number of times, tz/l the shadows
fade away,: and I can tell Thee my love eternally face to
feos,

ve MARIE-FRANCOISE-THERESE DE L’7ENFANT
JESUS ET DE LA SAINTE FACE,

** Rel. Carm. Ind,’”?

This long formula was presented for examination to
R. P. Lemonnier of the Missionaries of La Délivrande who
had come to preach a retreat at the Carmel. He considered
it orthodox, and suggested no modification except the
change of one adjective.®

Two of the requests expressed in this prayer, with
regard to the obtaining of the stigmata in heaven, and the
conserving of Our Saviour’s presence in the intervals
between her Communions, appeared to him, it is true,
rather daring; but he realized that the loving confidence
of the saintly child led her to act with what may be called
audacity towards her heavenly Spouse, and for that
reason, he did not curtail them in any way. Besides
Thérése kept this consecration secret except from two
novices of whose generosity she felt assured; but she
accustomed herself to recite the above Act very frequently,

1 Cf. Cant. iv 6.

2 Summarium of 1919, p. 552, § 1526.

3 The saint had originally written “‘ Infinite are the desires
that I feel within my heart.’’ This word seemed, in her opinion,
best to express the vehemence of her aspirations. On the
advice of R. P. Lemonnier, she substituted the adjective
““ Immense,” which is theologically more exact.

THE VIRTUES OF THE “‘ LITTLE WAY ” 339

so that it became the authentic expression of her habitual
dispositions. She was to renew that oblation until her
last hour.

What is exactly the signification of this Act? It is an
offering of self to God’s Merciful Love, but an offering
made by the creature in order to draw down to her this
merciful Love. If, then, the oblation is accepted, its
first effect will be to draw down from the Divine Heart
torrents of love to set that soul aflame. She will also
become the object of the Master’s sweetest mercies, since
the Almighty’s charity towards His feeble creature implies
abundant indulgence and pardon. The soul will be
consumed, not by material fire, but by the symbolic
flame of Divine Love, with which, by her union with the
Heart of Jesus, she is henceforth surrounded and pene-
trated.

Thérése speaks of martyrdom; she meant, however,
not strictly the martyrdom of physical suffering but of
love. This latter is effected by the floods of infinite
tenderness which submerge the soul, so that it cannot,
without groaning beneath the weight, endure their Divine
force. But can we not imagine what ineffable sweetness
must temper the rigours of such a martyrdom, and how,
if it is good to live through this suffering, it is better to die
by the same sweet martyrdom ?

True it is, as we have shown previously, that suffering
is the inseparable companion of love; but the trial will
be proportioned to the supernatural energy with which
the grace of the Well-beloved will have previously fortified
the soul, and the act of oblation to Merciful Love will
not bring as its necessary consequence, exceptional
sufferings.

R. P. Martin sums up the salutary and happy results
of this consecration in a few lines the theological depth
and precision of which the reader will appreciate.

‘“‘ The essential and by far the most desirable result of
martyrdom by love is to make the soul live in the con-

340 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

tinual exercise of charity, or according to the saint’s
own words, ‘ in an act of perfect love.’

‘“‘Now, when love so takes possession of the soul, it
becomes master of all her faculties and animates all her
acts. Consequently, all her actions, even the most in-
different, are stamped with the Divine seal of love, and
their value in the eyes of God becomes immense.

“‘ This is not all. Divine Love cannot suffer the pres-
ence, or even the trace of sin in the soul where it reigns
supreme. Undoubtedly, the oblation to Merciful Love
does not give impeccability nor prevent absolutely every
fall. A little victim may still be guilty of infidelities.
But the love which penetrates and surrounds her renews
her, so to speak, at each moment, and ceases not to consume
her, destroying thus in her everything which could displease
Fesus.””

Thérése, one day, had said to God, as we may remember:
“T fear but one thing; it is to keep my own will. Take
that, for I choose everything that Thou willest.” Herein
was holy abandonment, the distinctive characteristic of
spiritual childhood. If she resolved to practise it in this
degree from the very beginning of her career, what will
be its perfection now that she has surrendered herself by
formal and definite engagement to follow all the leadings
of Divine Love ?

She will accustom herself more than ever ‘‘ to look into
the eyes of the good God,” to find out what will please
Him, and to accomplish it without delay. Amid the
desolation and darkness that surround her, especially
after her consecration to Merciful Love, she will repeat
with her charming smile which reflects the peace of her
soul: “ If my Jesus appears to forget me, well, He is free
to do so, since I am no longer mine but His. He will
tire more quickly of making me wait than I of waiting
for Him.”

1 La “ petite voie” d’enfance spirituel, p. 84.
2 Suminarium of 1919, p. 260, 630.

THE VIRTUES OF THE ‘‘ LITTLE WAY ” 341

And when, in the throes of cruel agony, she shall hear
those sympathetic words: “It is frightful what you are
suffering.” ‘“‘ No,” she will reply, “it is not frightful;
could a little victim of love consider frightful what her
Spouse sends her ?””

Love is essentially active. When that high degree in
the union which transforms the soul is attained, which
was the privilege of Thérése, it will inevitably manifest
itself in an all-consuming zeal. Her apostolic ardour
shines through every page of the Histoire. We notice
especially that her zeal for the sanctification of priests,
which had been the great preoccupation of her religious
life, grew more intense after her act of oblation and
became a flame which was never to be extinguished, even
beyond the tomb.

We have here, then, some of the admirable results of
a sublime act of oblation, crowning a life of hidden sacri-
fice. Butare not these heightsinaccessible for the generality
of souls? Let us repeat that, in spite of certain aspects
or rather, certain expressions which alarm superficial
minds, the “little way of spiritual childhood”’ is open to
every soul of goodwill, and easy in proportion as that soul
is little in its own esteem. ‘This is, as we have seen, the
teaching of Benedict XV; it is, moreover, the formal
opinion of Pius XI, according to whom “ spiritual child-
hood is a way which, without giving to everyone assurance
of reaching the heights to which God has led Thérése,
is not only possible, but easy for all.’

The supernatural benefits of this blessed state of child-
hood may be gained during the course of a long life
without any of those sensible phenomena by which God
sometimes manifests the presence of pure love. But
it is not always thus in the lives of certain saints who
have attained to more than ordinary heights of perfection.

We remember the javelin plunged by an angel in the

1 Histoire d’une Ame, ch. xii, p. 247.
2 Discourse for the Approbation of Miracles, February 11, 1923.

342 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

heart of the great Teresa of Avila. A short time after
her oblation, the humble nun of Lisieux was to receive
in her turn a mystic touch from the Hand of God as a
prelude to the breaking of life’s chain. We give her own
words regarding the mystery of this Divine visitation of .
her heart by fire.

“Some days after my offering to Merciful Love,”
she said, ‘‘ I was commencing in the choir the Way of
the Cross, when I suddenly felt myself wounded with a
dart of fire so ardent that I thought I should die. I
know not how to explain the transport; no comparison
could make known the intensity of that flame. It
seemed to me that an invisible power plunged me wholly
in fire. Oh, what fire ! what sweetness !’”!

Meére Agnés de Jésus asked her if this extraordinary
phenomenon was the first that she had experienced in
her life. She replied candidly: ““ My Mother, I have
had transports of love several times, once in particular
during the novitiate when I remained for a whole week
far indeed from this earth. I cannot explain it; I acted,
as it seemed, with a body not my own; for me there
seemed to be a veil thrown over every earthly thing.
But I was not burned by a real flame; I could endure
those delights without expectation of seeing my bonds
riven asunder by their force; whereas, on the day of
which I now speak, a minute, a second more, and my

1 The very day she received this grace, the saint confided it
to Mére Agnés de Jésus, then Prioress. The latter did not
appear to pay any special attention to her communication, and
Thérese did not revert to it again. She did not even mention
it in her manuscript, she kept absolute silence on the subject.
Only on July 7, 1897, did Mére Agnés de Jésus question her
anew on the occurrence and obtain her reply as quoted above.

She humbly added: ‘‘ I then understood what the saints have
said concerning those states which they experienced so often.
As for me, I have had the experience but once, and that for an

instant only; I then fell back immediately into my habitual
aridity.”

THE VIRTUES OF THE “‘ LITTLE WAY ” 343

soul must have parted from the body.... Alas! I
found myself still on earth, and aridity returned imme-
diately to my soul.”?

Each day, the dear saint besought her Beloved that
her martyrdom of love, “ having prepared her to appear
before Him, might break life’s thread at last.” The
Hand of God had drawn back His flaming javelin, but
the wound was unto death.

1 Histoire d’une Ame, ch. xii, p. 228.

CHAPTER XIV

BEGINNING OF HER ILLNESS—THE ‘‘ HISTOIRE D’UNE
AME’’—THE ‘‘ NOVISSIMA VERBA’’—END OF EXILE—
FUNERAL CEREMONIES

(EUR THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS be-

lieved readily in the mysterious messages which

God sometimes sends by means of dreams.! It

would then delight her that, by this way at least, her

Divine Spouse should send a ray of joy into the dark

night which now ordinarily enveloped her. This joy
was hers in the spring of 1896.

“‘ On the roth of May,” she writes, “in a dream at the
first light of dawn, I thought I was walking in a gallery
with our Mother alone. Suddenly, without knowing how
they entered, I perceived three Carmelites; they wore
their white mantles and their large veils, and I knew
they came from heaven. ‘Oh, how happy would I be,’
thought I, ‘ to see the face of one of these Carmelites.’
As if my desire had been heard, the tallest of the saints
came towards me, and I fell on my knees. O joy! she
raised her veil and covered me with it. I at once recog-
nized the Venerable Anne of Jesus, Foundress of Carmel
in France.”

1 Was it not in a dream that St Joseph received the command
to fly into Egypt in order to shelter the Divine Infant and His
Mother from the fury of Herod, and do we not find in Holy
Scripture many instances of the same kind ?

* This great religious had been one of the companions of St
Teresa of Avila. Having been brought to France by Pére de
Bérulle, she established there St Teresa’s reform of the Order,
and died in the odour of sanctity in 1621. Pope Leo XIII

signed the decree for the introduction of her Cause of Beati-
fication.

Sceur Thérése de l’Enfant Jésus avows that, before this dream,
344

BEGINNING OF HER ILLNESS 345

“Her face was beautiful with a beauty not of this
earth; no rays came therefrom, and yet, notwithstanding
the thick veil that covered us, I could discern her face
illumined by a marvellously delicate light which it
appeared to produce of itself.

“The saint tenderly caressed me, and seeing myself
so loved, I found courage to speak to her: ‘O Mother,’
I said, ‘ I beseech you, tell me if God will leave me long
on earth. Will He come soon for me?’ She answered
with a gracious smile: ‘ Yes, soon ...soon.... I
promise you.’ ‘ Mother,’ I added, ‘tell me if the good
God requires nothing more of me than my poor little
acts and my desires. Is He satisfied with me ?”

“At this moment, the Venerable Mother’s face shone
with a far brighter radiance, and her expression appeared
to me incomparably more tender as she replied: ‘ God
desires nothing more from you; He is satisfied, well
satisfied. ...’ And laying her hands on my head,
she caressed me so fondly that it would be impossible
to tell my joy. My heart was filled with gladness,
and then I thought of my sisters, and wished to ask
some graces for them. ... Alas! at that moment, I
awoke.”

This dream confirmed the presentiment which the
little saint ever had of dying young. The hour was in
truth approaching when Divine Love, having already
wounded her with the fiery dart, was about to consume
the holocaust.

A month previously, on April 3, 1896, during the night

her thoughts rarely turned on the Venerable Mother who so long
ago had gone from our world.

1 Histotre d’une Ame, ch. xii, p. 211.

2 “ From my childhood, I had a strong presentiment that I
should die young. The good God has always made me desire
what He willed to give me.”—Thérése’s words as recorded by
Rev. Mere Agnes de ¥ésus during the saint’s last illness (Summarium

_ of 1919, p. 889, § 2574).

346 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

between Holy Thursday and Good Friday, according to
her own poetic expression, she had heard, “as it were,
a far-off murmur announcing to her the coming of the
Spouse.” In 1897, she related the happening herself.

“ At the time of Lent, last year, I felt stronger than ever
before, and this feeling of strength, notwithstanding the
fast which I observed in all its strictness, continued until
Eastertide. But, at the very first hour of Good Friday,
Jesus gave me the hope that I would soon go to join Him
in His beautiful heaven. Oh, how sweet this memory
is to me! Not having obtained permission on the
Thursday evening to remain at the sepulchre all night, L
went to our cell at midnight. No sooner did my head
rest on the pillow, than I felt a burning stream rise to my
lips; I believed that I was going to die, and my heart was
thrilled with joy. However, as I had just extinguished
our little lamp, I mortified my curiosity until morning
and slept peacefully. At five, when the signal for rising
was given, I reflected immediately that there were glad
tidings awaiting me, and, going to the window, my
suspicions were verified by finding our handkerchief all
blood-stained. Oh, my Mother, with what hope my soul
was filled. I was intimately persuaded that my Beloved,
on this the anniversary of His death, let me hear the first
call, as a distant and sweet murmur which announced His
blessed coming.

“With great fervour I assisted at Prime, and after-
wards at Chapter. I then hastened to kneel beside you,
Mother, and confide to you my joy. I did not feel the
slightest fatigue or suffering, and so I easily obtained
permission to finish Lent as I had begun. Thus, on
Good Friday, I shared in all the austerities of Carmel
without any mitigation. Ah, never before had these
observances appeared so sweet to me. ... I was in
transports of joy at the thought of going to heaven.

“At the close of that happy day, I again went to our
cell with a glad heart and was peacefully going to sleep

BEGINNING OF HER ILLNESS 347

when my good Jesus gave me, as on the preceding night,
the same sign that the time of my entrance into eternal
life was drawing near. I enjoyed such unclouded living
faith, that the thought of heaven was my greatest
happiness.’’!

Two years previously, Thérése had providentially been
asked to write those memoirs which by their wonderful
influence were to perpetuate for the greater good of souls
the examples of her holy life.

One winter evening in December, 1894, Mére Agnés
de Jésus then Prioress, Sceur Marie du Sacré-Cceur, and
our little saint were, during recreation, gathered around
the fire in the community-room, the only place where
the nuns had permission to warm themselves. The
presence of the Prioress gave them an opportunity of
speaking for a few moments on their reminiscences of the
old days. Thérése, who still retained her charming
childlike simplicity of speech, began to tell some incidents
of her early years. Her words brought a flood of happy
memories to these souls who were ever ready to attribute
all to God with loving gratitude. Sceur Marie du Sacré-
Cceur afterwards took the Mother Prioress aside, and said:
“It is really a pity, that although Sceur Thérése writes
verses for one or other of the Sisters, she writes nothing
that will preserve to us the memories of her childhood.
Our little sister is an angel who will not long remain on
earth, and we shall be sorry later on to have lost these
details which mean so much for us.”

Mére Agnés de Jésus hesitated for some weeks, but
finally directed Thérése to write for her feast day an
account of the principal events of her childhood. The
latter began the work at the opening of the year 1895.
She gave to it only rare leisure moments, for her duties
in the sacristy encroached very often on her free time.
Nevertheless, on January 20, 1896, she was ready. On
going to the choir for evening Prayer, she approached the

1 Histoire d’une Ame, ch. ix, pp. 156, etc.

348 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

Mother Prioress, and kneeling, gave her the manuscript, _
written without erasure on poor paper that a servant
would have disdained to use.

Mére Agnés acknowledged it by a simple inclination of
the head, laid it down on her stall, and did not even
examine it until months afterwards when, relieved of the
office of Prioress, she had a little more time at her own
disposal. During this long period Thérése de l’Enfant
Jésus never once suffered any anxiety as to the fate of
her work, and when her “ little mother” one day said
that she had not read it, did not appear astonished,
nor in the least disturbed, thus showing the perfection
of her detachment.

When reading the manuscript, Mére Agnés de Jésus
was carried back by every line and seemed to live again
in those bygone years, filled as they had been, in spite
of passing trial, with such pure and peaceful happiness.
Still more did she admire the marvels of grace wrought
by God in her sister’s soul from the very dawn of reason.
Hence, she formed some idea of the good that could be
accomplished by these pages later on, and began to wish
that ‘Thérése would complete the account of her life
in religion which was but outlined in what had already
been written. But, being no longer Superior, she could
not command her to continue her life-story then com-
prised in the first eight chapters of the Histoire d’une Ame.

Seeing Sceeur Thérese attacked by a malady which was
rapidly consuming her, she finally persuaded Mére Marie
de Gonzague, then Prioress, to make the young saint
write something of her life in the cloister. The resulting
manuscript furnished the matter of Chapters IX and X
of the future Histoire. Some supplementary pages,
written by Thérése during her retreat of 1896 on her
“little doctrine,” as she called it, were addressed by her
to Sceur Marie du Sacré-Ceeur. These were later on to
form the eleventh chapter of the same work.

On August 1, 1897, Mére Agnés de Jésus thought it

BEGINNING OF HER ILLNESS 349

well to tell Thérése that she intended to have the manu-
script read later in the community, and afterwards even to
publish it; she, however, expressed her fear that certain
Sisters would be opposed to this design. The saint
replied simply and without hesitation: ‘My Mother,
after my death, my manuscript should not be spoken of
to anyone until it is published. If you do otherwise, or
if you delay the publication, the demon will set many
_ snares for you in order to hinder God’s good work . . .
a work that is very important... .”

Her counsel was followed, as will be seen later. Having
obtained the Imprimatur of Mer Hugonin on March 8,
1898, the Histoire d’une Ame appeared during the October
following. A few weeks later, by reason of newly-arisen
circumstances, its publication would have been impossible.

One day, Mére Agnés de Jésus begged Thérése to
revise a passage of the manuscript that seemed to her
incomplete. Entering the infirmary shortly afterwards,
she saw that her eyes were wet with tears. “ You are
crying?’ she said to her. Thérése, with an indefinable
expression, replied: “ It is indeed the manifestation of
my soul.... Yes, these pages will do a great deal of
good. Through them God’s gentleness and sweetness
will become better known. ...” And she added in
an inspired tone: ‘‘ Ah, I know it, everyone will love
me. ...” It is impossible, considering what has since
taken place, to deny the saint’s gift of prophecy, mani-
fested also on several other occasions.

In these striking and unforeseen circumstances, then,
did St Thérése de l’Enfant Jésus, already weakened by
the austerities of the rule, wasted by consumption, dis-
tracted at every moment by a thousand interruptions,
compose these soul-stirring pages which aroused such
universal sentiments of admiration. We know the opinion
of Pius XI on “ this marvellous book, the freshness and
grace of which are so natural.’ On the day he canonized

1 Letter of Cardinal Vico, May 14, 1923.

UJ

350 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

its author, he wished to set forth one of the reasons for
that august act. ‘‘ The book on her own life written by
Sceur Thérése de l’Enfant Jésus in the limpid beauty of
her mother-tongue, in order to make known her way of
spiritual childhood, is not only in the hands of all, but
its sweetness penetrates the hearts of men most estranged
from Christian perfection. Numbers of them have been
converted by reading it, and are now firmly established in
the charity of Christ.”

Apart from this approbation of the Head of the Church,
attesting the high ascetical value of the book, competent
judges do not hesitate to praise its literary worth. A
scholar of undoubted literary taste, the abbé Henri
Bremond, has paid a tribute worthy of remark to the young
saint. For the Légende d’Argent that he so much desired,
and in which he wished that nothing but the best and
most beautiful should find place, he would ask for some
of Thérése’s narratives and also some extracts from her
letters which “‘ are of an incomparable freshness, grace,
and charity.’

But above and beyond the opinion of literary men,
there is the testimony of millions of readers differing in
language and country, who are every day being instructed
and impressed, encouraged to follow the path of duty
and sacrifice, led into the secret of intimate love of Jesus,
by the 400,000 copies of the Histoire d’une Ame now in
circulation.

On this Good Friday, 1896, which had brought to
Thérése a pledge of her fast-approaching departure for
heaven, the Prioress in charge was the recently re-elected

Meére Marie de Gonzague. Deceived by Seeur Thérése’s

1 Extract from the brief read by the Secretary of Briefs to the
Princes of the Church during the canonization ceremony.

2 The above appreciation is quoted by M. A. des Rotours
in La Bienheureuse Thérése de Enfant Jésus, p. 150. M. Bre-
mond’s study of Thérése to which this author refers appeared
in l’Inquiétude religieuse, 2nd series, 1909.

BEGINNING OF HER ILLNESS 351

energy, she did not at first think that the hemorrhage
was serious. She allowed her to follow all the austere
practices of the rule without alleviation, and even to spend
the interval of the long Offices of Good Friday in cleaning
the convent windows. It was then that one of the novices,
finding her pale as death and almost fainting under the
exertion of this laborious task added to the fatigue which
resulted from the fast on bread and water, offered, but
without success, to replace her.

The delicate tenderness of her fraternal love made
the invalid careful to conceal the state of her health from
her three sisters. ‘They noticed her pallor, but, seeing
her follow all the exercises of Holy Week and faithful
as ever to every observance, they suspected nothing.
Some weeks later, however, they found themselves
listening to the dry persistent cough that nothing could
alleviate, and began to realize that a deeply-rooted malady
was secretly undermining her strength. The Mother
Prioress herself grew uneasy about her at last, and relieved
her of the duties of the sacristy.

Dr. de Corniére, who usually attended the community,
and Dr. La Néele, a relative by marriage of the invalid,
had not up to that time noticed anything to cause alarm.
Nevertheless, in order to prevent the possible recurrence
of hemorrhage, they subjected her to a course of painful
treatment; massage, blistering, cupping, cauterizing, etc.
Ever smiling, and with gentle words of gratitude, the
little sufferer endured these remedies, at that time more
painful than the malady itself.

A strengthening régime banished the cough for a few
months; her dream of quickly going to heaven seemed
for the moment not about to be realized. She wrote to
one of the novices: “ Sickness is truly too slow a con-
ductor; I rely on love alone.”

This alleviation brought back to her for an instant the
hope of at last acceding to the wishes of the Carmelites
of Hanoi who were again asking for her. She could not,

'

352 ST [HERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

of course, dream of going there unless the malady were
completely cured. To obtain this favour, she com-
menced in November, 1896, a novena to Venerable
Théophane Vénard. Scarcely was the novena finished,
when a grave relapse clearly manifested God’s holy will.
This time, intense and continuous fever, joined to per-
sistent difficulties of digestion, rapidly sapped her
remaining strength. Nevertheless, Mére Marie de Gon-
zague, having grown accustomed to see the saint bear up
valiantly under suffering, allowed her to follow all the
community exercises. ‘Thus, before she was finally sent
to the infirmary, the heroic child could be seen, whenever
she had to go to her cell unaided, stop at each step to
take breath, reaching the cell, at last in so exhausted a
state that she would take an hour to undress. There on
her hard and narrow pallet, wrapped in two poor blankets,
she would await, nearly always in feverish unrest, the
return of day and work renewed.

All through the winter, her strength gradually declined.
Dr. de Corniére, so long hopeful, did not now conceal
his anxiety. “I shall not be able to cure her,” he said
sadly; “‘ besides, this soul is not made for earth.”

Towards the end of Lent, 1897, very alarming
symptoms declared themselves. Though with little
hope of curing the implacable malady, the doctor, bent
on trying every means, continued his severe remedies,
especially more and more frequent applications of the
cauterizing needle. After each of these courses of treat-
ment, ‘hérése had to remain very quiet for some hours.
One day, when lying in her cell during recreation in order
to allay the pain of this cruel cauterization, she heard a
Sister in the kitchen speak about her thus: ‘‘ Sceur Thérése
de I’Enfant Jésus will soon die, and in truth, I ask myself
what can our Mother say of her after her death?! She

* In France, on the decease of each Carmelite, the Mother

Prioress sends to all the monasteries of the Order a biographical
notice, oftentimes of some length, on the deceased nun.

BEGINNING OF HER ILLNESS 353

will be embarrassed, for this little Sister, amiable though
she is, has surely done nothing worth recounting.”
The infirmarian, who had heard all this, said to Thérése:
“If you had set any value on the opinion of creatures,
you would be indeed disappointed today!”

“The opinion of creatures! Ah, happily the good
God has always given me the grace of being absolutely
indifferent to it.”

Between Thérese and the Sister who tended her a
conversation took place which revealed to the latter
certain facts till then unknown to the community.

“Tt is said,” observed the infirmarian, ‘‘ that you have
never suffered very much.”

The saint smilingly pointed to a glass containing some
liquid of a beautiful bright red colour. ‘‘ Do you see
that little glass ?’’ she said. ‘“‘ One would believe that it
contained a delicious liqueur; in reality, I take nothing
more bitter. Well, that is an image of my life. To the
eyes of others, it has always appeared in radiant hues.
To them it seemed that I drank a delicious cordial, when
instead it was but bitterness. I say bitterness, and still
my life has not in reality been bitter, for I have known
how to turn every bitterness into joy and sweetness.”

‘You are suffering greatly at this moment, are you
not ?”

“Yes. But then, I have so much desired it.’”!

She suffered more especially from constantly recurring
temptations against faith which, although she overcame
them, prevented her from enjoying fully the thought of
her near approaching deliverance.

The few months that yet remained to her were filled
with a double suffering, moral and physical, of which we
shall try to show various phases. Perhaps the reader
will be astonished that such severe trials should fall to
the lot of one so innocent. But it must be remembered
that the dear saint had wished to suffer, to suffer intensely

1 According to Histoire d’une Ame, ch. xii, p. 235, etc.
23

354 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

even till the end, in order that she might bring help to
priests, further the interests of the Church, and save souls.

From April 6, 1897, Mére Agnés de Jésus, foreseeing
that her angelic “‘ little Thérése ’’ would soon leave them
for heaven, began to write down in a note-book what
most struck her as they talked together during the daily
visits. Thérése at first felt troubled at her doing so, but
yielded to her sister’s wish rather than deprive her of
this last consolation. Mére Agnés de Jésus was thus able
to form a collection of pious reflections, of observations
showing a delicately clear discernment, of fervent aspira-
tions, and sighs of resignation and of hope which would
form the best Vade Mecum for sufferers of every age.
We shall borrow from these pages passages which best
show the thoughts that preoccupied the saint during the
last months of her life. Her favourite themes seem to
have been the worth of the “ little way of spiritual child-
hood,” the advantage of conformity with God’s will, the
privileges and favours of the Blessed Virgin, the example
of simplicity given by the holy Family, and the won-
derful benefits we derive from the communion of Saints.

Towards the end of the month of Mary, she enjoyed a
few days of sweet peace, and even of tranquil joy. ‘‘’They
say that I shall be afraid of death,” she said. ‘‘ That may
well happen; if they could but know how little con-
fidence I have in myself. . . . But I wish to enjoy the
dispositions that the good God now gives to me. It will
be time enough to suffer the contrary when it comes.”

During the first fortnight of June, another relapse was
the only response to a novena made for her by the entire
community. ‘I am resigned to live or die,’ she said.
“TI wish what the good God wills; whatever He does,
that do I love.”

Her calmness came, it is true, from a source little known
to worldlings. Mére Agnés de Jésus, on entering her cell
one evening, said to her: “‘ Why are you so joyful today ?”
““ Because I have had this morning two little trials, and

BEGINNING OF HER ILLNESS 355

very painful they were. ... Nothing gives me little
joys so much as little trials.”

She looked on death not only as a liberator, but even
as a friend. “I know I am going to die soon, but when
willit be? Oh, it comes not. Iam like a child to whom
a cake is continually being promised; it is shown him from
afar, and then, when he draws near to take it, the hand
that offers it is withdrawn. But I am wholly abandoned
to the will of the good God.”

She desired that her very death should benefit the dear
missions that she had always so generously helped.
“You must not,”’ she said, ‘“‘ let people give wreaths to
place around my coffin, as was the case with our good
Mother Genevieve. But ask them to use the money
in rescuing poor little negroes from slavery. Tell them
that they will please me by so doing.”

In every Carmel, the infirmary is a comfortable apart-
ment in comparison with the cells, so the nuns wished
to transfer Thérése thereto, but she gently persuaded
them to wait awhile. ‘I prefer,” she said, “‘ to remain
in our cell than to go to the infirmary, because here my
cough cannot be heard, and I disturb nobody. Besides,
when I am too well looked after, I have no happiness.”

She trained herself, moreover, to be courageous in face
of suffering. “‘I have so often been told,” she said,
“that I am courageous, and it is so far from being true,
that I said to myself: ‘ After all, everybody must not be
led astray in this manner.’ And I set myself to acquire
courage by the aid of grace... . I have no fear of the
final combat, nor of the sufferings which sickness brings,
however great they may be. The good God has helped
me and led me by the hand from my infancy. I count on
Him; I feel assured that He will continue to help me to
the very end. My sufferings may indeed be extreme,
but I am sure that He will never abandon me.”

1 These words as well as the preceding quotations are to be
found in the Summarium of 1919, p. 868, etc.

356 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

She needed this energy, not only in her violent attacks
of suffering, but also when, in spite of her weakness, she
went out to the garden to seek a little relief in the spring
sunshine.

She had been recommended to take a little exercise
for a quarter of an hour every day. One afternoon, a
Sister, seeing her walk with great difficulty, said to her:
“It would be better for you to rest. In your present
condition, walking cannot be of any benefit; you are more
fatigued by it; that is all.”

** It is true,” said the little saint, ““ but do you know
what gives me strength? ... Well, IJ walk for a
missionary. I reflect that in a distant land, one of them
is perhaps worn out by apostolic labour, and to lessen
his fatigue I offer mine to the good God.”

One evening, the community met for the purpose
of singing a hymn in one of those little sanctuaries
named in Carmel “ hermitages.’’ The invalid, then
greatly weakened by her malady, dragged herself pain-
fully to the spot, and, once there, was forced to sit down
immediately. One of her companions, who did not yet
realize the gravity of 'Thérése’s condition, gave her a sign
to rise like the others to sing the hymn. The humble
child obeyed instantly, and in spite of her exhaustion,
remained standing till the end.

During her hours of solitude she worked without
intermission. Paintings on silk, pretty miniatures, pious
emblems succeeded one another from her still deft
fingers, whether for use in the sacristy or the consolation
or pleasure of her Sisters. She did not forget the novices,
whom she could rarely see now, but to whom she occa-
sionally sent a word of encouragement or even of reproof.

Her weakness increased from day to day, and intense
pains in her side made her realize the progress of the
destructive disease. Persuaded that the end was not
far off, on June 4, she took advantage of the presence
of her three sisters in her cell to bid them farewell. She

BEGINNING OF HER ILLNESS 357

was radiant that evening, as if transfigured, and seemed
to suffer no longer. ‘‘O my little sisters,” she said,
“how happy Iam! I see that I am soon to die: I feel
sure of it now. Be not astonished if I do not appear to
you after my death, or if you see nothing extraordinary
that would make my happiness known to you. Remember
that it is my ‘little way’ to desire nothing of that kind.
You know well what I have so often said about the good
God, the angels, and the saints:

“That my desire does not lie
In seeing them with earthly eye.’

—TI would wish, however, to have an easy death in order
to console you. But do not feel disturbed if I suffer
greatly and if, as I have said, you cannot see in me any

signs of happiness at the moment of my death. ... Our
Saviour was truly a Victim of love, and see how great was
His agony.”

The dear saint seemed to see by light from on high
the martyrdom reserved for her by the Almighty before
her entrance into eternal happiness. But the thought
of being able to serve souls made her accept all, even
suffering in the life beyond if necessary. “‘I do not
know,” she said, “‘ whether I shall go to Purgatory; but
if I do, I shall not regret having done nothing to avoid it;
I shall never repent of having worked for the one purpose
of saving souls. How glad I was to learn that our Mother
St Teresa was of the same mind.”

A period of calm succeeded this alarming crisis, and
“little Thérése ”’ profited by it to go out to the garden
and there offer her pale brow to the sun’s caressing rays
which were calling forth the flower-blossoms. On
June 7 she was returning, with the assistance of Mere
Agnés de Jésus, when she noticed a little white hen
sheltering her brood of chickens under her wings. The
sight brought tears to her eyes. Her sister asked the

1 Summarium of 1919, pp. 874-875.

358 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

reason. ‘“‘I cannot tell you now,” Thérése answered;
‘“‘it has touched me so deeply; let us go in.” On
entering her cell, she turned towards her “ little mother ”
with a heavenly expression of countenance. ‘I thought
of Our Saviour,” she said, ‘‘ and of the charming example
He chose to make us believe in the tenderness of His love.
He has done this for me all my life; He has entirely
hidden me under His wings. If I have shed tears, they
were tears of thankfulness and love. I could not contain
the feelings with which my heart overflowed.”

Thérése, as we know, sometimes spoke of the future
with prophetic insight. One day, Sceur Marie du Sacré-
Cceur said to her: ‘‘ What a sorrow it will be for us when
you die!”

“Oh no,” she replied joyously, ‘‘ you will see; there
will be as it were a shower of roses.”’

Thus, by an act of His goodness, did the Divine Spouse
dispel at times the darkness which oppressed the soul of
His gentle victim. But these moments of joy were only
as lightning-flashes between the thunder clouds.

On July 4, a fresh hemorrhage aroused the greatest
anxiety. The saint, believing herself to be on the verge
of death, said simply to her sisters: “‘I have read a
beautiful passage in the Reflections on the Imitation. Our
Saviour in the Garden of Olives enjoyed all the bliss of
the ‘Trinity, and yet His agony was none the less cruel.
It is a mystery; but I assure you that I comprehend in
some degree its meaning from what I now feel.”

After a still graver attack, she said to Mére Agnés de
Jésus: ‘‘ Iam going soon to see the good God.”

“ Are you afraid of death, now that you see it so near ?”

** Ah, I fear it less and less.”’

In allusion to a passage in the Gospel, she often called
Jesus the “‘ Divine Thief’’ who comes with suddenness
to steal souls. ‘‘ Are you afraid of the ‘ Thief’ ?”’ her
sister continued. ‘ He is now at the door.”

“No, He is not at the door; He has come in. But

BEGINNING OF HER ILLNESS 359

what is this you ask me, little mother? Am I afraid of
the ‘ Thief’? How could I fear one whom I love so
much? These words: ‘ Although He should kill me,
yet will I trust in Him,’ have delighted me from my
childhood. But I have taken long to gain this degree
of abandonment. Now I have reached it. The good
God has taken me and placed me there.”’

This admirable serenity was astonishing in one whose
last hour was apparently so near. Fearing that fresh
hemorrhages would carry her away suddenly, it was
thought best to take her to the infirmary. It was July 8.
On leaving her poor cell, the silent witness of so many
prayers, mortifications and hidden pain, Thérése de
Enfant Jésus felt her heart deeply moved. She said to
Mere Agnés de Jésus: ‘‘ When I am in heaven, you must
bear in mind that a great part of my happiness was won
in this little cell, for,” she added, with a deep longing
gaze towards heaven, ‘“‘I have suffered greatly here; I
would have liked to die here.”

On a table beside her bed had been placed the miracu-
lous statue of the Blessed Virgin whose smile had once
cured her. She looked at it lovingly on entering the
infirmary. “‘ What do you see ?” asked her sister Marie,
who had before witnessed her ecstasy.

“* Never has it appeared so beautiful to me; but today
it is the statue; before, as you well know, it was not the
statue.”

‘During the days that followed, in spite of the continual
imminence of death, she wished to remember nothing
except her great mission, the saving of souls. She could
no longer talk with the novices regularly for their edifica-
tion; still less could she give them the example of her
strict observance. But there was, at this time, at the
Grand Seminary of Bayeux, a student about to set out for
the novitiate of the White Fathers. This young student

1 Citations from the Summarium of 1919, beginning with
p. 874; also from Histoire d’une Ame, ch. xii.

360 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

had been adopted by her as spiritual brother, and now,
facing the difficulties of the life before him, he sought for
encouragement, light, and consolation from her sufferings,
sacrifices, and, if possible, from her parting coun-els.

There was also in the heart of the Far East, as yet so
impenetrable to the doctrines of salvation, a priest who,
amid hostile surroundings, daily risked his life in Chinese
villages to win souls to the Saviour.

Thérése’s merits were acquired in part at least by the
work of these foreign missions. She wished still, up to
the very end, to fan the flame that she had enkindled in
the hearts of these apostles, and she resumed her corre-
spondence first of all with the abbé Belliere. Nothing
could be more touching than these three letters written
on a bed of agony and addressed to a seminarist who
aspired to martyrdom.

‘She commenced on July 26 by telling him of her
approaching death. ‘‘ Perhaps when you receive these
few lines, I shall be no longer on earth but in the midst
of eternal delights. I do not know the future; yet, I can
say with certainty that the Spouse is at the door. A
miracle would be required to keep me in exile, and I
think that Jesus would not work a useless miracle. Oh,
my brother, how happy I am to die. Yes, I am happy,
not at being delivered from suffering here below, for, on
the contrary, suffering united to love is the only thing
which appears to me desirable in this valley of tears.
But I am glad to die because I feel that such is God’s will,
and because in heaven, far more than here, I shall be
helpful to the souls dear to me, especially yours. . .

“ When my brother sets out for Africa, I shall follow
him not only in thought and in prayer. I shall be always
with him, and his faith will know well how to discern the
presence of a little sister that Jesus has given him to be
his helper not only during two short years, but till the end
of his life.

“These promises may perhaps appear fanciful to you;

BEGINNING OF HER ILLNESS 361

but you must begin to realize that the good God has
always treated me like a spoiled child.”

The very day before she addressed these lines to the
Abbé Belliere, she had, in conversation with her sisters,
given utterance to the following never-to-be-forgotten
words,

“You will look down upon us from heaven,” they said.

“No,” she replied, ‘‘ I will come down.”

And again: ‘‘ One hope alone makes my heart throb;
it is the thought of the love I shall receive and that I shall
be able to give. I think of all the good that I want to
do after death, to have little children baptized, to help
priests, missionaries, the whole Church. . . .”

To anyone doubting the efficacy of these desires, it
would be sufficient to tell of the marvels obtained in our
own day through Thérése’s intercession, by numerous
apostles in foreign mission fields.

Let us revert to the assistance given by the saint from
the very brink of the grave to Abbé Belliére. The poor
missionary aspirant had been greatly upset on learning
of the rapidly approaching end of her upon whom he had
counted for help during long years to come. She set
herself first of all to console him, but did not stop at this
work of common charity. Her desire was to lead him
swiftly to sanctity by the way in which she herself had
succeeded so well, her “ little way ” of spiritual childhood.

“ T feel that we are destined to go to heaven by the same
way, the way of suffering joined to love. When I have
reached the end, I will teach you how you must steer over
the tempestuous sea of the world with the abandonment
and love of a child who knows that his father cherishes
him and will not leave him alone in the hour of danger.

“Oh, how I long to make you understand the tender-
ness of the Heart of Jesus and the return He expects from
you. Your last letter made my heart thrill with joy.
I understood to what a degree your soul is akin to mine,

1 Partly unpublished letter.

362 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

since it is called to raise itself to God by the lift of love,
not to climb the rude and steep ascent of fear. I am
not astonished that familiarity with Jesus seems difficult
to you; we cannot attain to that in a day; but of this I
am sure, that I shall help you far more to walk in this
delightful way when I am delivered from mortal bonds,
so that soon you will say with St Augustine: ‘ Love is the
force which carries me along.’ ’”?

On the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, the little
invalid received Holy Communion amidst touching cir-
cumstances. A young priest celebrated his first Mass
in the convent chapel. Along the cloisters strewn with
wild flowers and rose petals he carried the sacred Host
to the Infirmary which was prepared like a sanctuary.
Before the Body of Christ was placed on 'Thérése’s lips,
Sceur Marie de |’Eucharistie sang in a melodious voice
the following strophe composed by the young saint:

“To die of love, ’tis martyrdom divine
For which my spirit thirsteth day and night;
O Cherubim, attune your harps with mine,
Full soon from exile shall my soul take flight.

O Jesus grant my dream, my one desire,
Of love to die.”’

On the following day, Thérése made to Mére Agnés
de Jésus another prophetic confidence. It was this
announcement, now become celebrated, since it is every
day being splendidly realized throughout the world:

‘I feel that my mission is soon to begin, my mission
to make the good God loved as I love Him, to give to souls
my little way. If the good God grants my desires, my
heaven will be spent upon earth until the end of the
world. Yes, I WILL SPEND MY HEAVEN IN DOING GOOD
UPON EARTH. It is not impossible, since from the very
midst of the beatific vision the angels are watching over us.

' Letter published in part in the Histoire d’une Ame, p. 370.

BEGINNING OF HER ILLNESS 363

_ “T shall not be able to rest until the end of the world.
But when the Angel shall have said, ‘ Time is no more,’
then I shall rest. I can then enjoy repose, for the number
of the elect will be complete and all will have entered into
eternal bliss.”

“* By what way,” her sister asked, ‘‘ do you wish to lead
souls ?”

“ By the way of spiritual childhood, Mother, the way
of confidence and self-surrender. I wish to show them
the little way that has so perfectly succeeded with me,
to tell them that there is but one thing to do here below,
to strew before Jesus the flowers of little sacrifices, to win
Him by caresses. It is thus I have won Him, and it is
for this that I shall be so well received.’

These considerations presuppose a spirit free from
all discouragement. Profiting by a short respite from
severe pain, Thérése hastened to write letters of farewell
to her relatives who, of course, could not visit her in the
infirmary. She had first of all written to her sister
Léonie on July 17. Listen to her last counsels to one
whom, she had largely contributed to establish in fervour.

“TI am so glad to be able to write to you once more.
Some days ago, I thought that I should never again have
that consolation on earth; but the good God seems to
will that my exile should continue a little longer. I am
not disturbed at this, for I do not wish to enter heaven a
minute sooner by my own will. The only happiness on
earth is to make it our study always to take delight in the
part that Jesus assigns to us. Yours is indeed beautiful,
my dear little sister. If you wish to be a saint, that will
be easy for you, because in your heart the world is nothing
to you. Like us then, you can occupy yourself with the
one thing necessary, that is to say, give yourself with
devotedness to the external occupations, with sole inten-
tion of pleasing Jesus and of uniting yourself more
intimately with Him.

1 Summarium of 1919, p. 893, § 2585.

364 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

“‘ You wish that I should pray to the Sacred Heart for
you when I am in heaven. You may feel sure that I
will not forget your commissions, nor to ask for everything
that you need in order to become a saint. Farewell, my
dear little sister. I would that the thought of my entrance
into heaven might fill you with gladness since I shall then
be able to love you still more.’

With this charming simplicity did Thérése take leave
of her elder sisters. But was it really farewell? Was it
not rather an invitation to an early rendezvous in a land
where parting is unknown ?

Thérése next addressed to her uncle a most touching
letter,? if we are to judge by the reply of M. Guérin on
July 25, 1897.

*“ My dear little angel,” wrote her uncle, “ your letter
has given us surprise and indescribable joy; it brought
tears to my eyes. Of what nature were those tears? I
cannot say. Many different feelings were responsible for
them; pride in my adopted daughter; admiration of such
great courage and such great love of God; also, for I
cannot hide it from you, my dear child, sorrow which
human nature must suffer, at a separation which to it
appears eternal. Faith and reason protest. We submit
to their arguments, but they are powerless to prevent our
sighs, our sorrow. ... You were your good mother’s
precious pearl, last in coming, your venerated father’s
‘little queen,’ and you are the most beautiful jewel in this
crown of lilies which encircles me and gives me a fore-
taste of the perfection of heaven. However great the
grief which at certain moments besets and oppresses me,
never has the thought come of seeking to keep you from
the arms of the Spouse who is calling you... . It is
said that the swan, though silent during its whole life,
breaks into a sublime song as death approaches. Your
letter, my dearest one, is, without doubt, your last song

1 Summarium, p. 951, § 2780.
2 See this letter in the Appendix.

BEGINNING OF HER ILLNESS 365

for us. The pious thoughts that it has inspired will
teach us perhaps to feel a little of that flame of divine
love which consumes you and to which you desire to be
more intimately united.

“ Little privileged soul, you who have seen the burning
bush from your tender childhood, and have been fascinated
by its brightness, you have now drawn so near to it that
soon you will find yourself in its very heart.

“ Farewell, my beloved child, precious pearl confided
to me by your good mother. The memory of your
virtues and your innocence shall be ever with me, and I
hope that your prayers will bring me the grace of being
one day reunited to all my own in the eternal dwelling-
place.

“He who has perhaps some small claim to be called

your second father embraces you with deep affection.
** J, GUERIN.””?

This letter, the last sweet breath that came to her from
that dear sanctuary which had sheltered her infant joys,
moved Thérése’s heart to gladness and to sadness too;
but, having paid a final tribute of tenderness to her earthly
relatives, she continued to consecrate entirely to the
interests of the apostolate her last few days of respite
from suffering. Her farewell to Pére Roulland in his
difficult mission amidst obdurate and savage tribes was
another cry of hope: ‘“‘ I announce to you with gladness
my fast approaching entrance into the city of joy. What
attracts me in the fatherland of heaven is the hope of at
last loving God as I have so longed to love Him, and the
thought that I shall be able to make Him loved by a
multitude of souls who will praise Him for ever.’”

For the Abbé Belliére her solicitude was almost maternal.
This young man was, as we know, a fervent missionary
aspirant; but the remembrance of certain failings, exag-
gerated no doubt by his humility, caused him to hesitate

1 Summarium of 1919, p. 961. 2 [bid., p. 756, § 2294.

366 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

before entering on the way of entire abandonment shown —
him by Thérése. She urged him then, with an insistence

redoubled by the thought of her approaching death,
towards confidence in God’s merciful love: “‘ Is not Jesus
your sole treasure? As He is in heaven, your heart
should dwell there only. This sweet Saviour has long
ago forgotten your infidelities; to Him your desires for
perfection alone are present to rejoice His Heart. Remain
no longer at His feet, I pray you; obey the first impulse
which drives you to His arms; there is your place, and I
affirm more definitely than after your former letters that
it is forbidden you to go to heaven bya road other than

that taken by your little sister.”

This message bears the date of July 13. It was asa last
look given towards earthly scenes, towards happenings
under far-off skies. The eyes of the young saint were
now to be supernaturally closed to the earth?

Hzmorrhages of more serious nature than ever took
place during the last days of July, so that it was thought
wise to administer the last sacraments. She prepared
for these with particular fervour. Before the Extreme
Unction, she asked pardon of all the community in such
touching words that the Sisters shed tears. Then radiant
with smiles, she said: ‘‘'The door of my dark prison is
half open. I am in great joy, especially since our Father
Superior has told me that my soul today resembles that
of a little child after baptism.”’

She then received Holy Viaticum. Scarcely had she
finished her thanksgiving, when several of the nuns came
to speak to her. She said afterwards to Mére Agnés de
Jésus: ‘ How disturbed I have been during my thanks-
giving. ... But I reflected that when Our Saviour
retired into the desert, the people followed Him, and He

1 Letter published in part in the Histoire d’une Ame, p. 371.
* On August 14, it is true, she again addressed a letter to the

Abbé Belliere to emphasize some words in her preceding
counsels,

BEGINNING OF HER ILLNESS 367

did not send them away. I wished to imitate Him in
receiving my Sisters well.”

It was expected then that Sceur Thérése’s pure soul
would detach itself from mortal coils without effort. So
sweet a death would have been a privilege, but would not
have sufficiently satisfied the ardour to suffer for souls
which was to consume that predestined child till the very
end. In reality, a martyrdom of two long months was
commencing for her. And, more terrible still than these
physical torments, the moral agony of Gethsemani too
was near.

For several days the infirmarian remarked the signs of
cruel anguish on Sceur Thérése’s countenance, while she
insistently repeated: “‘ Oh, how necessary it is to pray for
the agonizing. If people did but know!”

“One night, she begged the Sister who was tending
her to sprinkle Holy Water on the bed, saying: ‘‘ The
demon is near me; I do not see him, but I feel his
presence. He torments me; he holds me with a hand
of iron, preventing me from getting the slightest relief;
he increases my pain in order to lead me to despair. . . .
And I cannot pray. I can only look at the Blessed Virgin
and say ‘ Jesus.” How necessary is that prayer at Com-
pline: ‘ Procul recedant somnia, et noctium phantasmata !
(Deliver us from the phantoms of the night).’ I
experience something mysterious; I do not suffer for
myself but for another soul... and the demon is
displeased.”

Deeply impressed, the infirmarian lit a blessed candle,
and the spirit of darkness fled, to return no more.

It was one of the temptations experienced at times by
those who have made special effort to oppose Satan’s
power on earth. Thérése came out victorious from this
hand-to-hand struggle with the infernal foe; but the con-
soling light which would make God’s nearness felt

1 Nevertheless, keen anguish was the little saint’s portion
until the end. Histoire d’une Ame, ch. xii, p. 239.

368 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

continued to evade her. To those around, this was not
apparent. Thus, one day, when she seemed to find joy
in gazing through the half-open window at a radiant
summer sky, a Sister said to her: “‘ Soon you will be up
there, beyond that blue sky; with what love you gaze at
it.’ The young saint smiled sweetly, and said after-
wards to Mére Agnés de Jésus: “‘ The Sisters do not
know what I suffer. As I looked at the blue firmament,
my only thoughts were of its material beauty; the other—
heaven—becomes more and more closed to me.”

We know what she thought about the worth of Holy
Communion. We have seen her, during the preceding
winter, drag herself painfully from her cell to the chapel,
no matter what the cost,to receive the Divine nourishment.
This consolation was now withheld. From August 17,
vomiting became so frequent that it was impossible to
afford her the happiness of this union with Jesus. That
was the most cruel trial ofall. ‘“‘ But I reflect,” she says,
“on the words of St Ignatius of Antioch. I, also, must
be ground by suffering, in order to become the wheat of
God.”

From this time onwards, the suffocating oppression she
suffered was alarming. Sceur Genevieve de la Sainte-
Face had been appointed assistant infirmarian, and thus
had the consolation of attending on Thérése. She slept
in an adjoining cell, and hardly left the bedside except
during the hours for office, when Mére Agnés de Jésus
came to take her place. After a day of painful suffoca-
tions, ‘Thérése asked the Blessed Virgin that her cough
might cease so that her infirmarian might snatch a little
sleep. But she added: “‘ If you do not hear me, I shall
love you still more.’”

At each visit, the doctor expressed to the Mother
Prioress his admiration: “ Ah, if you knew what she is
enduring,” he said. ‘‘ Never have I seen such suffering

1 Summarium of 1919, p. 913, § 2651.
2 Summarium, p. 916.

BEGINNING OF HER ILLNESS 369

borne with that expression of supernatural joy. She is an
angel.”

Seeing her reduced to extreme weakness, he ordered
her some strengthening medicine; but she was under no
illusion as to its efficacy... . “I am convinced,” she
said, ‘‘ of the uselessness of remedies as regards curing
me; but I have arranged with the good God that He will
turn them to profit for the poor missionaries who have
neither the time nor the means to look after themselves.”

Certain remedies, instead of relieving her, increased
her sufferings. But when the pain was too intense, the
divine Saviour sent at times a ray of joy to his agonized
little spouse. “One evening,” she relates, “ during the
Great silence, before I had been transferred from the cell
to the infirmary, the infirmarian came to put a hot-water
bottle at my feet and tincture of iodine on my chest. I
was racked by fever; burning thirst consumed me. While
undergoing these remedies, I could not help complaining
to Our Saviour: ‘ My Jesus,’ I said, ‘ Thou seest that I
am burning with fever, and they bring me yet more heat,
more fire. Ah, if I had instead a half-glass of water, how
much more relieved I should be. . . . O my God, Thy
little child is consumed with thirst. But she is happy
nevertheless to have this opportunity of doing without
what is necessary, so that she may the better resemble
Thee and save souls.’

** Soon, the infirmarian left me, and I thought I should
not see her again until morning, but to my great surprise
she returned after a few moments bringing a refreshing
drink. ‘I have just this moment thought,’ she said,
‘ that you might be thirsty. I will bring you this cooling
drink every evening.’ I looked at her dumbfounded,
and when once more alone, my tears flowed freely. Oh,
how good Our Saviour is! How easy it is to touch His
Heart!”

A few rays of spiritual consolation, too, pierced at

1 Histoire d’une Ame, ch. xii, p. 250.
24,

370 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

intervals the dense clouds that surrounded her. For an
instant, the Saviour would unveil to His beloved one the
splendour of the privileges He had heaped upon her, and,
without any loss of humility, she declared quite simply
the magnificence of His liberality towards her. One day,
they brought her a sheaf of wheat, those beautiful ears
of wheat that she had formerly loved to see waving in the
corn-fields of Normandy amid the wild poppies and the
cornflowers. She took an ear so laden with grain that it
bent on its stem, and said to the Mother Prioress: ‘‘ My
mother, this is an image of my soul. The good God has
laden me with graces for myself and others.”’ ‘That was
a recognition of the supernatural benefits conferred on
her. But she immediately added: “‘ Ah, I desire always
to bow down, like this beautiful ear of corn, under the
abundance of Heaven’s gifts, recognizing that they all
come from above.’”!

Without lessening the weight of her cross, the Saviour
provided oftentimes unexpected helps so that she might
bear it without faltering. On September 6, a relic was
received at the Carmel, of Blessed Théophane Vénard,
the martyr missionary whose type of sanctity had always
appealed strongly to Thérése. She had several times,
but in vain, expressed the desire to possess a relic of this
servant of God; then seeing that her prayer remained
unanswered, she said no more about it. She now
welcomed with delight the long-coveted relic, recalling
why she had specially loved this “‘ little saint whose life
had been quite ordinary ’’; and as he had “ great affection
for his family ” she sought to imitate him to the end in
copying ‘‘ as a farewell souvenir’ for her sisters some
passages from the last letters of the martyr ‘“‘ which,” as
she said, “ expressed her own thoughts, and manifested
her own soul fully.”

But these fleeting moments of happiness were ever as

! According to the Histoire d’une Ame, ch. xii, p. 244.

BEGINNING OF HER ILLNESS 371

lightning flashes in her continually clouded sky. On
August 28, the invalid, pointing from a window to a dark
corner of the garden, said to Mére Agnés de Jésus: ‘‘ Do
you see that dark place down there beside the chestnut
trees where you can distinguish nothing? ... As
regards both soul and body, I am in a place like that.
What darkness! Yet I am in peace there.’

Even in the midst of this darkness, she had a super-
natural intuition of her sisters’ suffering, though they tried
to conceal it from her. Once, when one of them had
passed moments of agony at the thought of inevitable and
fast approaching separation from Thérése, and on entering
the infirmary immediately afterwards, had taken care to
hide every trace of her grief, she was much surprised to
hear Thérése say to her in serious and sorrowful accents:
“You should not mourn like those who have not hope.”

God, too, allowed her to experience some natural
apprehensions regarding the mystery of death. “I am
afraid,” she said on September 11, “ that I have had fear
of death; but I have not had fear of what will follow after
my death. ... I only said to myself: ‘ What is this
mysterious separation of soul and body ?’ It is the first
time I have experienced that feeling; but I immediately
abandoned myself to the good God.” And she added:
“Please give me the Crucifix that I may kiss it after
my act of contrition in order to gain the plenary indulgence
for the souls in purgatory. I now give them nothing of
more worth than that.”

To kiss her Crucifix, that little Crucifix with its’ Figure
worn by her caresses, was one of the saint’s principal
manifestations of love; at times, too, she added other
marks of devotion.

On September 14, a rose was brought to her. ‘Taking
its petals, she tenderly touched with each one the wounds
of her dying Saviour. Surely she must have recalled

1 Summarium of 1919, p. 925.

2. ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS
37

to mind lines which she had formerly addressed to
Jesus:

“Tn unpetalling the spring-time rose for Thee,
I would to wipe away Thy tears.”

Some of the petals fell from her bed on to the floor, and
she said to her sisters: “‘ Gather up these petals; do not
lose one of them; later on, they will enable you to give
pleasure... .” No doubt, she foresaw the marvels
which God would work by means of these lowly relics ;+
but her humility prevented her from speaking more
explicitly.

With surprising calmness, she confided her interior
dispositions to her “‘ little mother.’ ‘I am like a little
child; I have no thought except simple consent to every-
thing God wills, suffering what He sends me from
moment to moment, without being preoccupied about
the future. I only rejoice in death inasmuch as it is
the expression of God’s will for me. I do not desire
death more than life. Following natural choice, I prefer
death; but if I had the choice, I would choose nothing;
what the good God does, that do I love.’

Even in her very darkest hours of trouble, nothing could
shake her confidence. ‘“‘O my God,” she cries out,
“how good Thou art to Thy little victim of Merciful
Love! Even now, when Thou dost join exterior suffering
to trials of soul, I cannot say: ‘ The anguish of death hath
encompassed me,’ but I cry out in thankfulness: ‘ I have
gone down into the valley of the shadow of death; yet I
fear no evil, because Thou, my Saviour, art with me.’ ”’?

At the height of her most severe attacks, she contented
herself with murmuring gently: ‘““O my God, have pity

1 In September, 1910, one of these petals cured of cancer on
the tongue an old man named Ferdinand Aubry, a dependent
of the Little Sisters of the Poor in Lisieux.

2 Summarium of 1919, p. 865, § 2488.

3 Summarium, p. 865, § 2488.

BEGINNING OF HER ILLNESS 373

on me; Thou who art so good.”” Sometimes when breath
was failing her, she moaned at each painful respiration:
“1 suffer! I suffer!” But she said one day to the
faithful watcher at her side: “‘ Each time that I shall say:
“I suffer,’ reply, ‘So much the better,’ for that is what I
wish to say to complete my thought; I have not always
the strength to say it.”

In order to encourage her, or perhaps because he
expected that death would come more rapidly, the doctor
told her that she would have no suffering at the last.
When the end of September brought such intensified
pain, she said to her sisters: “‘ I was told that I would
have no agony! ... But after all, I am very willing to
have it.”

“‘ What if you were given a choice ?”

**T would choose nothing.”?

But it was little for this passionate lover of Jesus to
resign herself to His divine will. On the eve of their
blessed meeting, she gave in a special way evidence of
her ardour towards the Beloved, now so near. On one
of her last nights on earth, Sceur Genevieve de la Sainte-
Face, entering the infirmary, found her with hands joined
and eyes raised to heaven.

‘“‘ What are you doing thus?” she said. ‘‘ You should
try to get a little sleep.”

‘‘ T cannot sleep; I am praying then.”

‘“* And what are you saying to Jesus ?”’

‘“T say nothing to Him; I love Him.’”

At another time, her sister found her with the crucifix
in her hand and passing her fingers lovingly over the
wounded brow and mangled limbs of her Saviour.

‘** What are you doing ?” she asked.

‘* T am taking out the nails, and raising from His brow
the crown of thorns.”

One day, when the three sisters were together, Sceur
Marie du Sacré-Cceur and Sceur Genevieve de la Sainte-

1 Summarium of 1919, p. 928. 2 [bid., p. 843, § 2427.

374 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

Face expressed the hope that her last look might be given
to her ‘‘ little mother,” Agnés de Jésus. ‘‘ No,” declared
Thérése, ‘‘ that would be too human. If the good God
leaves me free, my last farewell shall be to my Prioress,
Mére Marie de Gonzague.”’ We can realize how great
the abnegation and spirit of faith required for such a wish.

To add to her trials, Seur Thérése was deprived for
some time of visits from the chaplain, who was kept away
by a grave illness. Canon Faucon came to supply for
him, and to this worthy priest the dying nun made her
last confession. He entered the infirmary feeling as
though it were a sanctuary. Seeing her so beautiful,*
and as if transfigured in the midst of her sufferings, he
was seized with profound veneration. Filled with
emotion, he said to Mére Agnés de Jésus before leaving:
“What an angel! She is confirmed in grace.’ One of
his friends, Pere Granger, a missionary of La Délivrande,
had told him to ask the prayers of the little saint for
two very great favours. After her confession, Thérése
humbly and simply promised to make the desired inter-
cession. Before long, Pere Granger’s petitions were
fully granted?

The dying saint wished to the very end to declare her
thoughts on the privileges of “little souls.” Five days
before her death, Mére Agnés de Jésus related to her a
conversation that had taken place during recreation on
the responsibility of those who die after a long life spent
in charge of souls. ‘‘ Those who are little,” said Thérése,
“will be judged with extreme gentleness... .° And it is
quite possible to remain little, even when charged with
the heaviest responsibilities, and that, during a very long
life. If I were to die at eighty, and had held responsible

1 On this day, by reason of her extreme weakness and terrible
difficulty in breathing, the veil which the Carmelites always keep
lowered in such cases was raised.

2 Summarium of 1919, p. 854, § 2458.

3 Cf. Sap. vi 7.

BEGINNING OF HER ILLNESS 375

charges in several monasteries, I feel sure that at my
death I would be as Jittle as I am today. It is written
that at the end, the Lord will arise to save the meek and
humble of the earth.. It is not said to ‘ judge,’ but to
* save.’ ”

Thus with a soul overflowing with supernatural hope,
in spite of the trials of her faith, she went on her way to
the Father of mercies.

But He wished to set another jewel in her eternal crown.
On September 24, the anniversary of her veiling, Mére
Agnes de Jésus had asked that Mass might be celebrated
for her benefit. 'Thérése thanked her gratefully. Seeing
that she continued to suffer, her sister said sadly: “‘ Alas!
you have got no relief.”

“ Was it then for relief from my sufferings that you had
Mass offered ?”

“It was for your good.”

“My good . . . that, without doubt, is to suffer.’

In truth, her sufferings continually increased. From
September 25, she was so weak that she could no longer
make the least movement unaided. ‘The sound of voices
even in low tones near her bed became a torment to her.
In the burning heat of fever, and with the terrible sense
of sutfocation, she could not articulate a word without
cruel pain. Nevertheless, Heaven still sent her in her
agony an occasional ray of sunshine. One of her last
joys was the sight of a little robin that came through the
open window and flitted about her bed.

The evening before her death, at about nine o’clock,
a sound of fluttering wings was heard in the garden, and
a turtle-dove—they knew not whence it came—alighted
on the window-sill, and there stayed long, softly cooing.
Thérése and her sister Geneviéve de la Sainte-Face then
recalled to mind the words of the Canticle: “ The song of
the turtle is heard in our land. ... Arise, my love,

WN GT ePS, IXxV) LO.
2 Summarium of 1919, p. 929.

376 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

my dove, and come, for winter is now past.”! Yes, the
call of the Spouse was very near.

From early morning of September 29, a distressing
rattle in the throat seemed to announce the end. ‘Towards
midday, the dying nun said to the Prioress: “‘ Mother,
is this the death-agony ? . .. How am I to prepare for
death? ...” The Office of St Michael the archangel
was read to her in French and also the prayers for the
dying. The doctor came for his usual visit. On his
departure, Thérése asked Meére Marie de Gonzague:

“Ts it today, Mother ?”

“Yes,” answered the Prioress.

“The good God,” added her sisters, ‘‘ is joyous today
because He is going to receive you into heaven.”

“And I too!” she cried. ‘‘ Oh, if I should die imme-
diately, what a happiness!”

Some hours later, a fresh attack succeeded this short
period of calm. “I am utterly exhausted—can do no
more,” she sighed. “Ah, pray for me. If you but
knew!”

After matins, she joined her hands, and with a sweet
and plaintive voice said: ‘‘ Yes, my God! yes, yes! I
accept all willingly.”

Contrary to the opinion of those around her, Thérése de
l’Enfant Jésus was to pass another night of agony here
below, but the morrow, Thursday, September 30, brought
the dawn of that happy day, that Dies natalis for which
she had so ardently longed. 'That morning, her sufferings
appeared inexpressible. Casting a look on the miraculous
statue of the Blessed Virgin which was facing her bed,
she joined her hands and said: ‘‘ Oh, I have prayed to
her so fervently ; but it is pure agony without any measure
of consolation.”

All day, fever, more burning than ever, consumed the
gentle victim. ‘‘ Ah,” she sighed, “if this is the agony,
what then is death?” Then, addressing the Mother

1_ Cf. Cante ui 12.

BEGINNING OF HER ILLNESS 377

Prioress, ““ Oh, my Mother, I assure you that the chalice
is full to the brim.”’ And in a fresh outburst of abandon-
ment, she cried out: ‘‘ Yes, my God, do whatever Thou
willest, but have pity on me.”

Turning then to her sisters, she said: “‘ My little sisters,
pray for me,” adding as if in recognition of fresh pain:
““My God, Thou who art so good; oh yes, Thou art
good, I know it... .”

Towards three o’clock, she put her arms in the form of
a cross, and Meére Marie de Gonzague placed on her
knees an image of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. She
gazed at it for a moment and said: ‘“‘ Oh, my Mother,
present me to the Blessed Virgin without delay. Prepare
me to die well.”

The Prioress reminded her that, as she had always
understood and practised humility, she could count on
receiving mercy. ‘Thérése thought for a moment, and
then, as if to encourage herself, said: “‘ Yes, I have never
sought anything but the truth. Yes, I have understood
humility of heart... .”

She added: “ All that I have written of my desire for
suffering, all is most true.” Then in tones of conviction:
“ I do not repent,” she said, “ of having surrendered myself
to love.”

Meanwhile, her torments became more and more acute.
The innocent victim who had so often offered herself for
the salvation of sinners, was moved to sigh in astonish-
ment: ‘‘ I would never have believed that it was possible
to suffer so much, never, never! I cannot explain it
except by the ardent desire I have had of saving souls.”’

Towards five o’clock, Mere Agnés de Jésus, who was
alone with her, noticed a sudden change in her coun-
tenance. This time, it was indeed the death agony. A
hurried summons of the bell called the community to the
infirmary. The little saint had a smile for each of the
Sisters. Then she became absorbed in the contemplation
of her Crucifix.

378 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

For two hours, the terrible death-rattle tore her chest.
She trembled in every limb, and the sweat of death was
so profuse that soon the bed-covering and mattress were
saturated. To cool the burning fever that so cruelly
parched her lips, Sceur Genevieve refreshed them with a
small particle of ice. A look of infinite tenderness, and a
smile of heavenlysweetness rewarded the “‘little companion
of her childhood ” for this last act of fraternal charity.

Towards seven o’clock, as her condition had not grown
worse, the Mother Prioress dismissed the community.
Turning towards her, the dying saint murmured: ‘“‘ Has
the agony not yet come, Mother? Am [not going to die ?”’

“Yes, my child, this is the agony; but the good God
wishes perhaps to prolong it for a few hours. . . .”

“* Well then, let it be so. Oh, I would not wish to suffer
less.” Then fixing her gaze on the Crucifix: “‘ Oh,” she
murmured, “‘I LovE Him! My Gop,I...LOVE...
ICHEE, YS.

These were her last words. All at once, she sank down
on the bed, her head leaning to the right in the attitude
of those virgin martyrs who submitted themselves to the
sword of the executioner, or rather in the attitude of
abandonment with which a victim awaits from conquering
Love the flaming arrow for which she longs. But, to the
great surprise of all, she suddenly raised herself up as if
called by some mysterious voice, opened her eyes, which
beamed with heavenly peace and indescribable joy, and
gazed fixedly at a point a little above the statue of the
Blessed Virgin which stood facing her bed. Her coun-
tenance which, a moment before had been distorted with
agony, regained its lily whiteness. ‘The features expressed
joyful wonder as if at sight of unsuspected marvels and,
at the same time, the powerlessness of her mortal nature
to bear up under the repeated attacks of victorious Love.
After some moments of silent contemplation,’ her head

1 Her companions say, “‘ For a space sufficient to recite a
Credo.”

BEGINNING OF HER ILLNESS 379

fell back and she expired in this seraphic ecstasy. It was
September 30, 1897, at about 7.20 p.m. Her age was then
twenty-four years and nine months.

Scarcely had she drawn her last breath, when a reflection
of celestial happiness illumed her countenance. Clothed
in her religious habit, a crown of white roses on her head,
and a palm branch in her hand,' they laid her first on the
paillasse from her own cell, brought down to the infirmary
for this purpose. It was here that the nuns came to offer
the first homage of regret and veneration to her who for
more than nine years had been the model and the joy of
their community.

According to the custom of Carmel, deceased nuns are
laid out with face uncovered near the grille of the choir
before the day of burial. The public then saw for the
last time, and now through the cloister bars, the “‘ little
queen ”’ whose charming modesty they had formerly so
much admired. The sight drew crowds to the Carmel
who came to pray near the saint and to pass in their
rosaries, medals, and crucifixes so that these might touch
the remains. Even before leaving her convent for the
little enclosure recently acquired by the Carmelites in the
cemetery of Lisieux, Thérése wished to give the first
wonderful sign of her undying charity.

We remember the lay-sister who had so harshly treated
her on account of her arrangement of wreaths around
Mére Geneviéve’s coffin. This lay-sister suffered from
. cérebral anemia. In sorrow for her former injustice to
Thérése, and vividly impressed by the exemplary death
of the angelic young nun, she approached the remains,
and kissing the saint’s feet, leant her forehead upon
them for some moments and felt herself suddenly cured.
Other members of the community too noticed the perfume
of lilies and violets in places where no flower ever grew.
This was no doubt the sweet-scented “‘ shower ”’ in its

1 This palm was found intact in the coffin thirteen years
later at the time of her first exhumation (1910).

380 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

commencement. But the hour of separation had come.
The coffin-lid hid for ever from her community that
countenance so long the mirror of angelic beauty, and on
Monday, October 4, the Church solemnly invoked the
Seraphim and martyrs to lead their little sister near to
the throne of God.

A goodly number of priests had gathered in the chapel
around her who had so fervently prayed for priestly souls.
Nevertheless, the funeral procession of the poor Carmelite
to the cemetery was small and unassuming as befitted a
humble nun long separated from the world.

A deep grave had been dug in a corner of the enclosed
space reserved to the Carmelites. Without further
ceremony than that of the liturgical prayers and blessings,
the virginal body was lowered into the grave and was
quickly covered beneath the clay. The few mourners
withdrew, convinced that the little Sister’s earthly réle
was over. But, a few days later, a wooden cross was
erected at the head of the grave. In addition to the name
of Sceur Thérése de |’Enfant Jésus, it bore these mys-
terious words: ‘‘ JE VEUX PASSER MON CIEL A FAIRE DU BIEN
SUR LA TERRE.”' ‘This announcement, which was so
promptly realized, was to make of this lowly mound
crowned with lilies and roses a shrine of supplication and
thanksgiving almost unparalleled in the whole world.

1 “ T will spend my heaven in doing good upon earth.”

CHAPTER XV

FIRST PHASES OF HER GLORIFICATION—CONTINUOUS ‘‘ RAIN
OF ROSES ’’—SGUR THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS RAISED
TO THE ALTAR

‘ I FEEL that my mission is about to begin, my
mission to make the good God loved as I love Him.”
Deeply impressed by this solemn promise of Thérése,

her Sisters in religion sought from the moment of her

departure to heaven for its verification. On whom would
she bestow her first favours? Her powerful and per-
severing intercession was expected first of all for her dear

Carmel of Lisieux. ‘This hope was realized in the fullest

measure. We know that the fervour of the monastery,

solid for the most part and truly worthy of praise, had
een at times affected by the unequable temperament of

Mére Marie de Gonzague, a fact which explains the trials

inflicted on Sceur Thérése by two or three Sisters who

were unconscious of her high virtue. The circumstances
of her holy death enlightened all minds, so that the most
prejudiced of the nuns reproached themselves for their
rash judgements, and highly praised the admirable patience
of her whom they had misunderstood. The Prioress
herself had been profoundly moved when witness of the
saint’s last agony, and during the months that followed

Thérése’s departure from their midst, her character

became noticeably more equable and gentle, her charity

more stable under the influence of an ever growing
humility, and the now cherished memory of Thérése
filled her with gratitude and veneration. She received

a signal grace, known to herself alone, when before a

portrait of the “ little queen ”’ as a child upon her mother’s

knee. She could never afterwards look at this picture
381

382 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

without tears, and once when thus weeping, she said to
Sceur Genevieve de la Sainte-Face: ‘‘ I alone can know
what I owe her. Oh, what she said to me! . . . but so
tenderly.’

Led by these dispositions, she accomplished an act of
vast significance for the saint’s glorification and her
spiritual influence on souls. After the death of each nun,
the Prioress sends, as we know, a notice on the deceased
to every monastery of their Order. Mére Marie de
Gonzague adopted the idea suggested to her, of having
the Histoire d’une Ame printed and sent as the biographical
notice of Sceur Thérése to all the Carmels. The book
appeared in October, 1898.”

From the first there was an outburst of astonishment;
the book was read, and from different parts of France
came enthusiastic expressions of admiration. From the
monasteries, where it was read with avidity, it was lent
to friends. ‘Then, demands for copies poured into the
convent at Lisieux. It was the beginning of a circulation
which undoubtedly no other spiritual work has had for
more than a century.

But the book was to gain something better than a
wonderful circulation. Amongst the young girls from
Brittany to the Pyrenees who read the Histoire d’une
Ame, many felt themselves penetrated with the sweet
perfume exhaled from its every page, and became fired
with the desire to be united by fraternal bonds to the
“little Flower” of Carmel. From different French
provinces at first, then from Ireland, Portugal, Italy,

1 Summarium of 1919, p. 994, § 2854.

* It was Mére Agnés de Jésus who, following the counsel
given her by the saint, induced Mére Marie de Gonzague to
have the Histoire d’une Ame printed. The Prioress got the
manuscript revised by Rme Pére Godefroy Madelaine, then
Prior of the Premonstratensians of Mondaye. This religious
presented it to Mgr Hugonin for his Imprimatur, and drew up
the letter of approbation.

Mére Marie de Gonzague died on December 17, 1904, in
sentiments of the most profound humility.

FIRST PHASES OF HER GLORIFICATION 383

Constantinople, and the Argentine Republic, postulants
came to Lisieux. It was impossible to receive all these
in the monastery of Sceur Thérése. A large number had
to be directed to other convents, where they did honour to
the little saint who seemed to have called them. Those who
were retained in the Carmel of Lisieux were, for the most
part, to bring forth in a few years new flowers of sanctity.

Three of the latter deserve special mention: Rev. Mére
Marie-Ange de |’Enfant Jésus, who for a period of eighteen
months held the office of Prioress, Mére Isabelle du Sacré-
Coeur and Mére Thérése de |’Eucharistie, each of whom
held the office of Sub-Prioress at the time of her death.

The first of these three was of Breton origin. Her
rather egoistic character, joined it is true to genuine
greatness of soul, had developed in her a leaning towards
vanity and an inordinate desire for a worldly life. For
those whom she disdainfully styled the ‘“‘ good Sisters ”’
she had nothing but aversion and pity. She read the
Histoire dune Ame. It was as a flood of light in the
darkness where her conscience groped its way. A little
later, she knocked at the convent door at Lisieux, as
“ Sceur Thérése’s conquest.”

From the first, she applied herself to copy, as far as in her
lay, the model that had attracted her to this holy place.
Her generosity in sacrifice, her constancy in pain, and her
anxiety to attain at all costs to intimacy with the Divine
Lover of souls were noticed with especial edification."

1 The little saint’s inspiration will be recognized in the

following verses taken from a prayer where Mére Marie-Ange
gives in poetic language the history of her vocation:

‘“ With twenty summers past, the world’s ways I knew;
Alas ! how disenchanted was my heart;
Did nectar pure and fresh as waves my soul renew?
No, nought but burning poison was my part.

A thousand blessings on thee, little queen,

For thou hast brought me to this cloister blest;
Beyond the world’s every prize I love this scene
Of striving, where in song I wish to die at last.”

7

384 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

Her sterling qualities caused her, though very young,
to be proposed as Prioress. Her admiration for the saint
had long inspired her with the desire to see that life of
virtue sanctioned by the solemn decision of the Church.
Now that she held the office of Prioress, she used every
means to secure this happy result, and had the joy, in 1908,
of persuading Mgr Lemonnier, the newly elected Bishop
of Bayeux, to lend his assistance. Unfortunately, she,
like her heavenly friend, had contracted consumption,
which was to bring her to the grave. She spent seven
years in the cloister before going to join Thérese in
heaven. Before her death, she had said: ‘“‘ I will spend
my heaven in helping ‘ my little Thérése.’ ”+

Of no less refined intellect or brilliant imagination,
Mere Isabelle du Sacré-Cceur also showed, first by her
virtues and afterwards by her writings, the profound
influence exercised on her by Thérése’s autobiography.
Entering at once and whole-heartedly into the “ little
way,” she passed on through its different stages quickly
enough to taste very soon the incomparable sweetness of
divine union. Coming from a family of good social
standing, she had, as she said, willingly renounced all
worldly advantages for the love of Jesus, and she added:

“In leaving all, with all have I been blest;
The hundred-fold e’en here doth He bestow;
He gave the rose when thorns were my request,
I live at heaven’s threshold here below.’

With rare delicacy she cultivated the flower of poetry
which 'Thérése had made to spring up in such beauty in
the garden of Carmel. She became so conversant with
the secrets of French metre, that she undertook to outline
the “little way” in charming rhythm, and to compose

1 She had previously explained these words by saying that she
would spend her heaven working in the interest of the Saint’s
cause. She died on November 11, 1909.

® Mere Isabelle du Sacré-Ceur, p. 24. Work published by
the Carmel.

FIRST PHASES OF HER GLORIFICATION 38 5

another work of still greater merit on the Douceur
divine.*

She was appointed mistress of novices, and we can
judge from some remarkable fragments left us of her
instructions with what fidelity she continued in the
footsteps of her predecessor. She died on July 31, 1914,
at the age of thirty-three, having been sub-prioress for
some time previously.

Her successor in this office was a young nun who in
the world had been the Countess de la Tour-d’Auvergne.
Scarcely was she initiated into the ways of Carmel, when
Sceur Thérése de |’Eucharistie, the name she bore in
religion, determined, in order to acquire humility “‘ to be
the little slave of all without letting this appear.” Before
each sacrifice, she put to herself the question : “* How would
our little Thérése have acted ?” ‘Then, immediately, she
felt ready to accept anything and hastened to accomplish
the task before her.”

It was at this time that a priest giving a retreat at the
convent said to the Prioress: “‘ Mother, it is easy to see that
a saint has lived in your Carmel.” And in truth, through
these young Sisters, penetrated with her spirit, imitating
her in every detail of their lives and even in the circum-
stances of their deaths, Sceur Thérése taught, edified,
and sanctified still the house she had loved so well. A
shower of graces descended on the monastery that
sheltered those dearest to her here below.

Thérése de 1’Enfant Jésus had promised to help priests.
Numerous, assuredly, were they who had received spiritual
assistance from her during her short life. Was it not for
them, that they might grow in perfection, fervour, and
love, that she became a Carmelite? But her work here
below had been only in its commencement.

1 On this subject she composed a poem of between five and
six hundred verses.
2 Her life has been sketched in a little pamphlet entitled Mére
Thérese de l Eucharistie (Carmel of Lisieux).
25

4

386 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

Priests have been and still are those whom the dear
saint favours most. ‘“‘ Pray to her,’ said Benedict XV
to one of them; “ it is her vocation to teach priests how
to love Jesus Christ.’ Examples could be given of
eminent ecclesiastics who placed no faith in Therese, con-
sidering her as a nun of charming qualities no doubt, but
nothing more. She has so well succeeded in winning
these over, that they are now her most ardent disciples.
Nor was she content until she had led them to enter
seriously upon her little way, the way of holy abandonment
and heroic charity. It would be impossible to enumerate
these whom she has visited, consoled, and strengthened
in hours of weakness and agony, whom she has inspired
with the joy of sacrifice, with supernatural happiness in
bearing the cross for Jesus. Many have declared by word
and writing that to her they owe the wonderful success
of an apostolate previously most disheartening and barren
of results.

A single incident will serve to show how the saint
won over a priestly soul. It is taken from the writings of
R. P. Flamérion of the Society of Jesus (he died in 1925),
who received every year the confidences of hundreds of
ecclesiastics at the house of retreat in Clamart.

‘“ A priest, whose director I was,” he writes, ‘“ held
a high position in one of the most important secondary
schools in Paris. He was in no way predisposed towards
devotion to ‘Thérése de |’Enfant Jésus; quite the contrary.
At least, so I thought, with the result that, notwith-
standing my own devotion to the saint, I would not
venture to speak of her to him lest I should receive but
a sarcastic smile in return. One day, a colleague said to
him: ‘ You ought to read the Life of a Carmelite, Sceur
Thérése de |’Enfant Jésus. You are a psychologist; you
would find it an interesting study.’

““ My penitent was persuaded; he asked for the most
complete Life, and spent a whole day in reading the work
from cover to cover; he was completely won over.

FIRST PHASES OF HER GLORIFICATION 387

“This priest was a great lover of the poor. In co-
operation with a charitable lady, he had looked after an
unfortunate poor woman who had been given up by the
doctors, and whose death would leave two young orphans
alone in the world and completely without support. For
several weeks, the poor dying woman was in despair at
the thought of her children’s future, and bitterly rebelled
against Providence.

“ Realizing the peril to this soul, her benefactor sud-
denly thought of Sceur Thérése, and commenced a novena
to obtain her intercession. The charitable lady did the
same without informing the priest of the fact. A com-
plete change in the dispositions of the dying woman
resulted ; she became fully resigned, and expired with eyes
fixed on a picture of the Blessed Virgin, while her two
children stood beside her saying the rosary for her until the
last moment. ‘The priest, whose altered sentiments had
led to this conversion, sent to Lisieux a detailed account
of the double wonder.’”?

Another remarkable example of her influence was to
follow. It was one of her own directors, he who had so
earnestly exhorted her to confidence; the saint resolved
to lead him now to the practice of her “ little way.” The
apostle of holy abandonment, R. P. Pichon, wrote in 1909
to Sr Geneviéve de la Sainte-Face: ‘‘ Yes, God wills to
glorify His humble little spouse. After that, how can we
refrain from endeavour to become as little children? It
is for that end I labour now, at 66 years.’

Prodigal in spiritual favours to diocesan priests,
Thérése was still more generous towards missionaries,

1 Summarium of 1919, p. 752, § 2289.

2 [bid., p. 1032, § 2928.

Pére Pichon had asked of God through the intercession of His
_ “little Thérése,” that he might celebrate Holy Mass to the last
day of his life, and he died just when going to the Altar,
November 15, 1919, in his seventy-seventh year.

Desiring to belong to the “‘ Legion of Victims of Merciful
Love ” he had made the saint’s act of oblation.

388 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

those dear missionaries whose apostolic work she had
regarded with so much envy and exalted in such pathetic
accents.

She had announced the intention of beginning her
conquests immediately after her death, and while all the
time watching over her dear Carmel, of visiting first of all
the missions. From the year 1898, the Annals of the
Propagation of the Faith record results which the mis-
sionaries describe as hitherto unknown and unhoped for.
In numerous villages, the natives came of their own
accord to receive instruction and baptism. Unacquainted
as yet with Sceur Thérése de |’Enfant Jésus, the greater
number of these priests, isolated in the heart of savage
countries, attributed these signal graces to a particular
intervention of the Holy Spirit in favour of their flocks.

After encouraging in numerous ways the apostolate
of Pére Roulland, Scur Thérése willed to extend her
protection to his confréres of the Foreign Missions.
“‘T can testify,” says her spiritual brother, “ that in our
missions in Japan, China, and the Indies, not only is
confidence in the holiness and powerful intercession of
Sceur 'Thérése widespread, but she exercises very remark-
able influence in converting souls and advancing them in
virtue. In Japan, in particular, many 'Trappistine nuns
declare that they owe their vocation to the influence of
Seur Thérese de Enfant Jésus, whose Life they had
read.”

The African territory where P. Belliére laboured seems
also to have benefited by Sceur Thérése’s most fruitful
apostolate. A single instance will give an idea of the
marvels she wrought, especially in favour of a mission
directed by the White Fathers. One of these wrote in
December, 1910: “In almost all the dwellings of our
Christians, and in all our Catechism schools, I have had
placed a picture of the young saint. Everybody asked
who is this little ‘ bikira’ (virgin). I assembled my

1 Summarium of 1919, p. 1022, § 2504.

FIRST PHASES OF HER GLORIFICATION 389

catechists and gave them a résumé of Sceur Thérése’s
life, adding that she must have great influence with God.
I then gave her picture to each one, and recommended
them to ask through her intercession the conversion of
the entire country. They did so. From that day
onward, the pagans came to catechism, not in small
numbers but in compact crowds, so that, on Sundays,
the mission enclosure was packed with people. . . . Note
too that a great number of these poor natives came from
villages which I had never visited, and which had hitherto
been, if not hostile, at least completely indifferent to the
missionaries.’’!

All the facts narrated refer to the spiritual order.
Without refusing her efficacious compassion to physical
suffering, the saint had willed to commence by healing
souls. But she knew that bodily cures, more evident to
the eyes of the multitude, would equally serve God’s
cause by strengthening confidence in His mercy and by
increasing the number of prayers addressed to His servant.
She had already relieved or cured many infirmities during
the years immediately following her entrance into heaven.
But it was again for a future priest that she reserved one
of her first great miracles, one of the two that were brought
forward for her beatification.

Since her fame had gone beyond the limits of her
convent, recreations at the Grand Seminary of Bayeux
were often passed in discussion on the merits and marvels
of the young nun of Lisieux. Certain amongst the
seminarists considered her piety fanciful or unattainable,
while others spoke in glowing words of the Histoire d’une
Ame, and quoted the miracles already performed by “ little
Thérése.” Noticeable amongst the latter was a young
cleric, M. l’abbé Anne, a native of Lisieux. His health
previously had always been good, but towards the month
of June, 1904, it began to fail. Two years later, on
August 23, 1906, he collapsed after an attack of hzmor-

1 Summarium of 1919, p. 989, § 2844.

390 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

rhage, which plainly indicated consumption far advanced.
On examination, the doctors found immediately the
symptoms of this dread disease in its most advanced stage;
there were large cavities already in the lungs, burning
fever had set in, with an utter aversion to food of any kind.
No hope remained; death within a few days seemed
inevitable. However, a novena to Scur Thérése was
begun. A relic of the saint was hung around the neck
of the dying cleric. But the ruthless malady continued its
destructive work. One evening, the nursing Sister, con-
vinced that he would pass away during the night, exhorted
him to make the sacrifice of his life generously. But the
abbé did not wish to die. He felt that Sceur Thérése was
near him, that she protected him, and warded off his death,
so that she might give him back to his family and to the
Church. Hardly had the Sister spoken her charitable
words of advice, when he seized the relic of the saintly
Carmelite, pressed it to his heart, and in an outburst of
irresistible confidence, mentally offered up this prayer:
“Little Thérése, you are in heaven; of that I feel sure.
I am on earth where there is good to be done. You must
cure me.” This appeal made silently but with an in-
tensity of hope had scarcely been formulated, when the
dying man sat upright in his bed. The suffocating
struggle for breath had ceased; the pain and the ravaging
fever were gone. He wanted to get up instantly; he was
cured. ‘The hastily summoned doctors declared that
the dying man was now in perfect health. Instead of the
lungs which were consumed and destroyed, new lungs
had suddenly been formed, and now normal respiration
gave fresh vigour to the whole system. The worn ap-
pearance of the abbé was the only indication of his recent
illness, and even this quickly disappeared with a few
days of regular nourishment. It was a veritable resur-
rection.

M. l’abbé Anne is today chaplain to the public hospital
of Lisieux, where he attends to the spiritual needs of

FIRST PHASES OF HER GLORIFICATION 391

eight hundred patients. He is in the prime of life, and
seems blessed with perfect health. ‘‘ Little Thérése ” did
not do things by halves. Not content with curing him,
she has blessed him with strength of constitution above
the ordinary. Impossible to present a more remarkable
case to the ecclesiastical judges charged with the pro-
nouncement of a decision on divine intervention.

We have next to record how, through the same inter-
vention, a bishop was restored to health. Well known
is the admirable work of Mgr Augouard who contributed
so largely to the extension, not only of the kingdom of
the gospel, but also of French influence in the vast regions
of central Africa. The labours of this Vicar Apostolic
of Ubanghi were perilously near their end when, in 1910,
he was attacked very severely by rheumatism of a type
which threatened to render him permanently helpless.
We have his own account of the manner in which he was
restored to the full possession of those active powers that
he was still to use for many years in the service of the
Church.

BRAZZAVILLE, November 10, 1912.

“cc

. . . Two years ago, I was confined to my room for
three months by very painful rheumatism which caused
me great suffering. During this time, I had an oppor-
tunity of reading the Life of little Sceur Thérése, and was
deeply edified. One evening, when the sufferings had
increased, I besought the dear Carmelite to ask God for
my cure or my death, for I had no wish to remain a burden
on my mission. Having reflected during the night, I
withdrew this petition, and said to the little Sister: ‘ Let
me suffer, since such is the will of God. I ask nothing
now for myself, but save Fr .. . (naming one of my
missionaries) from death.’ ‘The missionary in question
had been attacked by the fatal sleeping sickness which has
claimed so many victims in the Congo. He was sent back
to France, where he was examined at the Pasteur Institute,

392 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

and was pronounced entirely free from any microbe. He
returned to the Congo, and never again gave any cause
for anxiety on the score of health, although he had had
for two years previously symptoms of the dread disease.

“To crown all, I myself, who no longer asked anything
personal, was cured the day after I had withdrawn my
petition.

“In thanksgiving for this double cure, I made a
pilgrimage to the little saint’s tomb at Lisieux.

“Thus am I happy to join my voice to those of my
venerable colleagues in the Episcopate asking the Holy
Father to introduce as soon as possible the Cause of this
dear Carmelite who has already accomplished such

wonders.
nders ** PROSPER AUGOUARD,

“* Bishop of Upper French Congo.”

At the time this letter was written, the number of
cures and other temporal favours obtained by 'Thérése for
her clients in different parts of the world were already
past counting.”

The diocesan authority of Bayeux, moved by these
happenings, undertook a canonical inquiry. Mgr Le-
monnier received from the Sacred Congregation of
Rites, on February 10, 1910, authorization to commence

1 Cited in the Shower of Roses for the year 1912, p. 107.

2 Amongst the first hundreds of cures reported by lay persons
may be mentioned that of Mme Debossu of Marnes-le-Coquette
(Seine-et-Oise) who was suffering from a fibrous tumour in
her left side, and from peritonitis. She recovered her health
suddenly in September, 1901, on the last day of a novena.

Another, worthy of note is the cure of a Jesuit lay-brother in
Cracow suffering from a serious malady of the liver. This
miracle took place in March, 1906.

Two years later, on May 26, 1908, the instantaneous cure
was announced of a little blind child of four years to whom the
saint appeared.

We recommend to our readers who desire fuller details of the
saint’s influence at this period the volumes entitled Showers of
Roses, published by the Carmel of Lisieux.

a

FIRST PHASES OF HER GLORIFICATION 393

the Process of Beatification by examination of Sceur
Thérése’s writings.

It was the first stage towards the supreme glorification.
The “little queen ” seems to have waited for this before
showing to the eyes of the whole world with incomparable
splendour her power with God.

In the beginning of the year 1910, the writer of these
lines was in the company of a group of Sulpician priests
at Issy, when a venerable prelate, Mgr de Teil, who had
recently been appointed vice-postulator of the Cause,
spoke of a young Carmelite of Lisieux who had died a few
years previously and was attracting the attention of the
public by the fame of wonders obtained through her
intercession.1

For instance, she had just conferred a signal favour
on the Carmel of Gallipoli in the south of Italy by putting
in the empty coffer bank-notes sufficient to pay off a
pressing debt.”

This was the first time that the Vicar-general of Meaux
had heard the name of Thérése Martin mentioned since
the pilgrimage of 1888, when he had been so near her,
and had almost met her at the feet of the Sovereign
Pontiff, Leo XIII. Listening with amazement to the

1 Mer de Teil had become acquainted with the Carmel of
Lisieux in the lifetime of the saint, when he gave a very interest-
ing discourse there on the venerable Carmelites of Compiégne,
and insistently asked whether the nuns had not heard accounts
of miracles obtained through their intercession. On coming
away from the parlour, Sceur Thérése de |’Enfant Jésus made
the following remark: “‘ How touching is the zeal of this postula-
tor! How glad one would be to have miracles to make known
to him !”

In the beginning of the year 1909, he was appointed by Mgr
Lemonnier and the Carmel to forward the Cause of the Servant
of God. After labouring for this end during thirteen years,
with indefatigable ardour and prudence, he died at Paris on
May 20, 1922, holding in his hand the picture of Sceur Thérése
de l’Enfant Jésus.

2 For further details of this striking and important miracle,
see Shower of Roses (extract from vols. i and ii, p. 110).

394 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

story of Gallipoli, he little thought that, when fifteen years
later he would be called upon to relate her wonderful life,
it would have become impossible for him to make a cata-
logue of her miracles, so numerous would they be.

Soon it became impossible for Mgr de Teil himself to
note all the miraculous interventions attibuted to the
wonder-worker. Fortunately, these accounts have been
carefully collected and recorded with fraternal solicitude
at the Carmel of Lisieux. It was the “‘ rain of roses ”’
predicted by Thérése, rain growing every day more and
more beneficent and sweet, and by degrees extending its
refreshing showers to all parts of the world.

The nuns of Lisieux conceived the idea of putting
together in volumes a great number of letters relating
conversions, cures, and other favours which were now
arriving in hundreds. Thus were these volumes com-
posed which in the space of fifteen years have comprised
no less than 3,000 pages of close type. Yet this written
account presents but a small fraction of her miracles.’
Throughout the pages of these seven volumes, we are
brought face to face with the most poignant human misery,
and we see everywhere the gentle hand of the saint
carrying the saving power of Jesus to all, like the Master
long ago in Galilee, ‘‘ sanans omnem languorem et omnem
infirmitatem,”’?

Her help extends to every rank of society, but she
appears to have a special regard for the poor and humble,
the sick and the abandoned, above all for little children.
Thousands of unfortunate people who have received her
assistance could repeat the touching words of a poor
woman who had come to the saint’s grave to make known

1 These volumes are on sale at the Central Office of Lisieux.
The first recorded facts go back to the year 1902. Vol. vii, which
has just appeared, records the miracles obtained through the
saint’s intercession during the interval between her Beatification
and Canonization.

2 Matt. iv 23,

FIRST PHASES OF HER GLORIFICATION 395

her distress: ‘‘ Oh, with what gentleness she spoke to me |
I have now no fear of anything.”

Apart from the alleviation of bodily suffering, these
miracles usually bring sweet and strengthening interior
peace ; they pour into the heart a perfume as from paradise,
and engender a longing for the kingdom of God; they
envelop the soul with a penetrating fragrance and leave
it immersed in celestial love. ‘‘ 'To love, to be loved, and
to return to earth to make Love loved,” was the part to
which Thérése aspired and the rdle which in reality she
now fills.

She exercises it all the more effectively because this
cure of bodily and moral wounds is but the negative
element of her mission. She instructs, she sanctifies, she
leads souls upwards in thousands to the summits of the
spiritual life by the interior help she gives, especially
through the reading of the Histoire d’une Ame.

We shall readily agree that the circulation of this book
alone is one of her grandest miracles, when we realize that
from 1898 to 1925, 410,000 copies of the complete edition
have been sold, without mentioning the two million
copies of the abridged Life summarized from the original
work.?

Added to this unprecedented success of the French
original is that of its thirty-five translations into different
languages which have found their way into every corner
of the world during the last fifteen years. Such a result,
obtained as it was without advertisement, seems to denote
supernatural intervention. Consider furthermore that
this book, written by bits and scraps, at odd moments
snatched whenever possible, written, too, without any
effort at literary style, yet possesses an irresistible charm

1 Cited by Abbé Fernessolle: La Bienheureuse Thérése de
VEnfant Fésus, p. 84.

2 Apart from the circulation of the Histoire, the enormous
number of 30,388,000 pictures and 17,507,000 relic-sachets
and relic-pictures have been distributed within the same period.

396 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

which leads people to re-read it in many cases six or seven
times and more, producing in the soul an ever increasing
detachment from passing things, a clearer understanding
of divine realities and a further advance in divine love.

The principal fruits of grace obtained by the reading of
the book in France, Spain, and Italy are enumerated in
the several volumes of the Shower of Roses; we can but
refer the reader to these. We shall merely note some of
the wonders wrought in Protestant lands.

A former United Free Church minister of Lochranza
in Arran wrote from Edinburgh on April 23, 1911, to
the Mother Prioress of the Carmel of Lisieux:

“‘ It is now more than a year since I became acquainted
with the Autobiography of Sceur Thérése de l’Enfant Jésus
in its English translation. I opened it at random, and
was immediately struck by the beauty and originality
of the thoughts. I found that the work of a genius as
well as a theologian had fallen into my hands, the work
of a poet too of the first order... . I felt as one to whom
the invisible world is suddenly revealed, and I said to
myself: ‘ Thérése is here in this room’; her image came
repeatedly before my mind; she refused to leave me, and
I seemed to hear her say: ‘See how Catholic saints love
Jesus Christ. Listen to me; choose my little way, for it
is a sure way, the only true way.’ I then commenced
to invoke her aid with a joy I shall not attempt to describe.
One day, she said suddenly to me: ‘ Why do you ask me
to pray for you if you do not wish to know and to in-
voke the Blessed Virgin?’ I realized immediately how
illogical it was to invoke Thérése and yet neglect the
Mother of God. ‘The light had come; I turned forthwith
to the Blessed Virgin. ‘The promptness of her response
astonished me. All at once, my soul was filled with
impassioned love hitherto unknown, a love which has
gone on increasing and is now an abyss.’”!

Rev. Alexander Grant was baptized on April 20, 1911,

1 Shower of Roses, extract from Volumes I and II, p. 118.

FIRST PHASES OF HER GLORIFICATION 397

at Edinburgh, by a Jesuit Father. He was the first
member of the Free Church of Scotland to enter the
Catholic Church. His position having become difficult
in his own country, he came to France with his wife who
was also a convert. As a mark of their gratitude, they
came to live at Alencon in the house where the saint had
been born, there to welcome the numerous pilgrims
who visit it through devotion. Mr. Grant died a holy
death on July 19, 1917.

In a remarkable letter the Anglican minister of Stanton-
bury, the Rev. Newmann Guest, expresses the greatest
hope for the reunion of all England under the one pastor
through the power of Thérése: “‘ I believe,’ he wrote
even before the canonization, ‘‘ that one day the East
(which is partly Catholic) and the West (Protestant) of
England will again be joined in real unity. For the
attainment of this end, I count on the influence of the
autobiography of the ‘ Little Flower ’ of Jesus, this young
soul who will soon, let us hope, be canonized by the
Church of Rome.

“‘ If we Anglicans and Roman Catholics could unite in
the same prayer, and if a novena for our reunion through
the intercession of Sceur Thérése de |’Enfant Jésus were
begun, I have no doubt this happy result would come
suddenly, as came the conversion of three thousand
Israelites on the day of Pentecost. I say again: Cease
your controversy and pray.”}

If the Protestants of the United Kingdom were so much
struck by Thérése, what shall we say of English Catholics ?
The ‘‘ Little Flower’ exercised over them an influence
that manifested itself from time to time in practical efforts
to improve social conditions.

A rich factory-owner in Liverpool who employed over
a hundred workers of both sexes acknowledged that
before he came to know of St Thérése de |’Enfant Jésus
he never gave a thought to ameliorating the condition of

1 Extract from a letter addressed to The Universe (London).

398 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

his employees. He read the Histoire d'une Ame, and
became anew man. Not content with distributing copies
to each of the workers, and having the picture of the saint
put up in his workshops, he gave an annual holiday of
eight days to every one in his employment during which
they received their usual wages. He organized little
social gatherings to bring some rays of joy into their dull
and monotonous lives; he sent many of them to make
retreats, ‘‘ for,” said he, ‘‘it is eternal happiness above
all which I wish to procure for these poor people.” He
advanced with steady strides in the “little way’; he had
learned the lesson of love.

In America, the same confidence, the same enthusiasm
is continually shown in act. Examples might be given
of Catholic dioceses in Canada where ‘“‘ little Thérése”’
is perhaps more popular than in France itself. Large
cities in the United States send up to her supplications
and appeals each day more numerous. In the immense
Protestant hospitals there that shelter so much human
misery, doctors and nurses vie with one another in
invoking the saint. When a doctor has come to the end
of his scientific resources, he says to his patient: ‘‘ Pray
to the ‘ Little Flower,’ ”’ and the nurses bring round from
bed to bed pictures and souvenirs of Thérése.

The British colonies, especially India and Australia,
rival the mother country in this devotion. From Sydney
and Ceylon, as from New York and Philadelphia, requests
pour into Lisieux for relics, biographies, and pictures.

South America followed the lead of Spain, where from
the first the Histoire d’une Ame was eagerly read. Italy
breathed with delight the perfume of this lily of purity;
Austria boasted of having obtained several grand miracles ;
even Germany, in spite of its early indifference towards
this saint who had lived on the other side of the Rhine,
was compelled to recognize her protection, and its Catholic
population invoke her with growing fervour. From all

1 See Shower of Roses, t. IV, Preface, p. 8.

FIRST PHASES OF HER GLORIFICATION 399

these countries requests for prayers reached Lisieux
simultaneously with accounts of miracles wrought in the
distant missions of the Congo, Nyanza, and the Far East.
It would be impossible to number the wonders, the
cures, conversions and apparitions with which the “‘ Little
Queen ”’ has blessed every land. Nor does she tire of
bestowing her favours. ‘‘ She is called, and she comes.
White, radiant and smiling, she manifests herself to the
raptured eyes of innocent children or to old soldiers who
long to wash out with their tears the stains of a lifetime.
Through closed doors and windowss he passes, bringing
her wondrous gifts of roses. She is invoked, and a
mysterious and most sweet perfume fills the air.’

1 Louis Théolier. To this appreciation it will not be out of
place to add the following lines written in a very worldly publi-
cation, Le Journal, by a man little inclined to credulity in
supernatural matters, Maurice de Waleffe:

“What was there extraordinary about the saint of Lisieux ?
Her short and uneventful life was that of a lily which opens at
morn and silently fades at eve.

“What has she done? Very little. She has written a book,
or rather she has committed to paper some intimate confidences
which the Carmel put together in a volume published after her
death under the title of the Histoire d’une Ame. And this soul
has been found so beautiful, so gentle, so adorable, that the
world has fallen on its knees. ‘The book was immediately
translated into every language. Millions of the faithful have
wept on reading it. It is not even necessary to be a believer to
realize that you are in the presence of one who has attained to
the very summit of moral perfection, and who is of so rare
a beauty and nobility of soul as to bring tears to the eyes. I do
not hide the fact that coming to Lisieux as a sceptic, I read this
book, and I in my turn was thrilled with tender admiration.
Here we have the real miracle. There are souls so powerful
that they literally create that which they desire. We cannot
come near them without being carried along by the force of their
wings.

“Thus the ardent dream of a child has triumphed over the
dull realities of earth. ‘ I will spend my heaven in doing good
upon earth,’ she repeated in her agony. Whether we believe
this or treat it sceptically, we cannot deny that these ex-votos,
these gifts, these pilgrimages, mean ... authentic cures of

400 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

Facts like these inspired more and more confidence of
success in the Cause that had been undertaken. In
August, 1910, the first session of the Informative Process
took place at Bayeux. This Process which treated of
the life and virtues of the servant of God was terminated
in December, 1911. In the following year (on December
10, 1912), the Sacred Congregation of Rites issued the
decree of approbation of Thérése’s writings, and less
than two years later, on June 10, 1914, the Sovereign
Pontiff Pius X signed the decree for the introduction of
her Cause. Close at hand, alas, was the terrible war, which
was to throw the world into confusion, and the saintly
Pope, as though he had a presentiment of the future,
hastened to put the little saint on the way to liturgical
honours before the horror of the carnage foreseen caused
him to die of grief.

In spite of the anguish that tore the hearts of the people
at this tragic time, one felt that the rdle of the young
virgin messenger of joy was to increase. Already in
Normandy her official glorification had begun. On
September 6, 1910, her body had been exhumed in the
presence of Mgr Lemonnier. ‘To insure the preservation
of the precious relics, they were placed in another coffin
and in a cemented vault at a short distance from the first
grave.

The virginal body, it is true, had not remained intact
after its thirteen years’ sojourn deep in the earth. As
Thérése had foretold, nothing was found of her but her

suffering, or other help received. The holocaust of the little
martyr has not then been an illusion. And who knows but
that the supreme secret of peace of heart, sought with pride
of intellect by religions and philosophies, may be found in her
doctrine of love for God and men ‘ as a little child would love
them’ !”

“‘ France has just given to the world the purest soul that has
lived since St Francis of Assisi.’? Quoted in the Annales de
sainte Thérése de Lisieux of July 1, 1925.

FIRST PHASES OF HER GLORIFICATION 401

bones. The thick material of the habit in which she was
buried had become quite thin and perishable. In her
remains, as in her life itself, nothing extraordinary appeared;
but the bones exhaled a sweet perfume (noticed by several
witnesses); the very earth that had touched the coffin
remained for months impregnated with heavenly fragrance.
This was but the prelude of other wonders.

From the day that war was declared, Thérése de
VEnfant Jésus left her place in heaven and entered the
field side by side with the “poilus’* of France. In
the mud of the trenches, on the plains of death, near the
bed of agony, she was to remain with them, faithful to
the end. Thus did her name become speedily known in
the camps at the front and in the barracks at the rear.
With the quickened perception of realities which comes
in hours of extreme peril, the poor soldiers realized the
miraculous influence of this beneficent mediatrix endowed
with heavenly grace, and they invoked her with intense
fervour. Moreover, they realized in their simple and
upright hearts the necessity, in order to “‘ win the war,”
of a virtue which Thérése had practised even to heroism,
namely constancy in doing and suffering all in the spirit
of duty. Thus was she their model as well as their
protectress.

Henceforth, she became, like St Michael and St Joan of
Arc, one of the invisible captains of the army in the field.
And it was to her that the most confiding and intimate
prayers were addressed. “‘'True, we have Joan of Arc,”
wrote a soldier daily faced with death, ‘ but the little
Sister is nearer to us.”

The faith of these brave men was manifested in naive
and transparently sincere expressions. ‘‘ J amin despair,”
writes a member of the Air Force, “‘ I have lost the little
saint’s relic.” A soldier of the line wrote to his mother:
““'The moment I received the relic of St Thérése, I was
filled with great joy; now I have no longer any fear.”

1 A name given to French soldiers.
26

402 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

What could be more touching than this simple prayer
of an artilleryman: “‘ Sceur Thérése de l’Enfant Jésus,
protect me, take the place of mother who is there no
longer.”

Artillery officers gave their battery the name of the
Carmelite saint; air pilots named their machines “ Avion
Seeur-Thérése’’; entire regiments were consecrated to
her. Nor was it merely the simple and illiterate who
thus invoked her whom they called their ‘‘ second angel
guardian ”’ or their ‘“‘ war god-mother.” The story is
told of a sub-lieutenant, infected by the philosophy of the
German school, and professing atheism, who died a holy
death after he had consented to wear a relic of Sceur
Thérése. Officers of high rank, like General Duplessis,
made a vow to go on a pilgrimage to her tomb if their lives
were spared, and when peace was restored, loudly pro-
claimed the efficacy of her assistance.”

The power of the “little Queen ”’ was manifested with
a clearness that forced recognition from even the most
incredulous. After a few months of warfare, the number
of bullets rendered harmless by coming in contact with
a relic, a medal, a picture, even a booklet concerning
Scur Théréese had gone beyond count. Many of these
*bucklers ’’ were sent to the Carmel of Lisieux, and on
most of them can be seen the mark of the bullet which had
been thus stopped in its course, turned aside, or flattened.

Anyone who has followed the history of the war will
readily class amongst the heroes the air-pilot Bourjade,
that fearless attacker of the German aircraft who, more
fortunate than his rival Guynemer, was at the end able
to hail victory for France. It is well known that this
great soldier was none other than a humble Missionary
of the Sacred Heart from Issoudun who was afterwards
to consecrate his last years and give his life to the service

1 See Interventions de Seeur Thérése de l’ Enfant Fésus pendant

la guerre, Preface.
2 Ibid., p. 188

FIRST PHASES OF HER GLORIFICATION 403

of the inhabitants of New Guinea. But what is not so
generally known is that his magnificent success was due to
supernatural protection. Fortunately, he noted down in
the course of his campaigns the favours he received,
under the form of letters of thanksgiving addressed to
his dear little saint. These letters have lately been
published.t_ Some of the many interventions attributed
by this aviator to Sceur Thérése date from the time when
Pére Bourjade, as a foot-soldier, went on scout duty
through the barbed-wire entanglements up to the very |
entrenchments of the enemy. ‘‘ How often,” he says,
“‘ when obliged to advance under the hail of shells that
fell on every side, have I under thy protection, Sceur
Thérése, come through all without a scratch.”

Later, Thérése protected on numberless occasions
amidst the dangers of aerial warfare Pére Bourjade’s
machine, which carried as its emblem a picture of the
saint; in recognition of this heavenly assistance rendered
with maternal solicitude, the missionary felt bound to
express his gratitude in fresh outbursts of thanksgiving.
**Oh, Sceur Thérése,” he exclaims, ‘“‘ how can I ever
thank you ? How many times have you snatched me from
death! I shall only know in heaven. What I do know
is that on more than ten occasions, I have had hair-
breadth escapes of fatal accidents. . . . In thus protect-
ing me you have brought me decorations too. In these,
alas, lies great danger of vainglory and self-esteem. ‘There-
fore, dear little Thérése, do not forget that zt 2s your fault
if I am decorated; help me, then, always to combat this
new danger which I feel very near me.”

Pére Bourjade was a missionary, so it is not astonishing
that he was an object of Thérése’s predilection. But no
one was excluded from her loving protection. Amongst
the soldiers to whom she deigned to appear radiant and
smiling in the midst of the carnage were to be found
lukewarm Catholics who had started for the front without

1 In the journal La Croix of February 19 and 21, 1925.

404 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

approaching the sacrament of penance, contenting them-
selves by accepting a picture or relic of “ the little Sister.’

Though belonging to France, like Saint Joan of Arc,
-Sceur Thérése did not refuse her pity to those who invoked
her even from the ranks of the enemy. A Bavarian
prisoner who had lost both legs was on the point of death.
The French chaplain recommended him to have recourse
to the “‘ saint of Lisieux,” and the dying man, having
spent a whole night in prayer, saw her descend towards
him. From that time onward, his wounds healed in an
astonishing manner. He was snatched from the jaws of
death, and went away repeating: ‘“‘ Oh, how I will make
known this French saint in my own country.”

The gratitude of our soldiers manifested itself in
a striking manner. A good number of them pleaded the
cause of their “little Sister’ with the Holy See. She
had obtained laurels and decorations for them; they asked
in return the halo of the blessed for her.

These few facts, gathered amongst hundreds of others,
give but a most inadequate idea of 'Thérése’s miraculous
intervention on behalf of the soldiers in the Great War.
To gain a fuller notion of them, it would be necessary to
see the thousands of letters and photographs sent by the
“poilus ” from the front, of her who had been an ever
tender, ever watchful mother to them. It isin the Carmel
chapel, within those walls covered with crosses of the
Legion of honour and other decorations, together with
epaulettes and swords sent as ex-votos from the trenches,
that one can realize how much the little saint meant to
our troops, and how, by her constant encouragement in
face of supreme danger, she contributed immeasurably
to the final victory.

To fully appreciate also the numberless and marvellous
favours obtained through her intercession for her clients

1 For example, Auguste Cousinard who has sent an account

to the Carmel of an apparition with which he was favoured.
Interventions, etc., p. 3.

—

FIRST PHASES OF HER GLORIFICATION 405

in every land and of every social condition, we should see
the marble memorial tablets that are erected in certain
cloisters of the convent. In the chapel itself, as we know,
the walls are literally covered over with plaques that
proclaim in letters of gold the manifold recognition of
her miracles.
_ Such manifestations of heavenly power made the process
of Beatification easy while helping also to hasten its happy
conclusion. ‘The cause had been introduced and the
apostolic process was being pursued at Bayeux, when
a new miracle of the first order, bearing the marks of
undeniable authenticity, further confirmed the favourable
opinion of the ecclesiastical judges. A religious of the
Congregation of the Daughters of the Cross, Seur Louise
de Saint-Germain, had from 1912 suffered from a
dangerous ulcer in the stomach which caused frequent
hemorrhage. This Sister belonged to the provincial
convent of Ustarritz (Basses-Pyrénées). She had, on two
different occasions, tried to resume her duties as teacher
in a Spanish convent to which she was attached; but each
time, violent hemorrhages had forced her to abandon her
work. In spite of all this, she continued to hope in Sceur
Thérése who had favoured her with heavenly perfumes
in the midst of her greatest sufferings. At the beginning
of 1915, she had become so weak that it was thought
advisable to administer the last sacraments. Abandoning
all hope of being cured, she had ceased to pray for that
favour, and now besought her heavenly advocate for
nothing but the grace to die well. Let us hear her own
account of Thérése’s decisive intervention to restore her
to health.

“In the beginning of September, 1916,” she says,
** a Sister who happened to be in the convent at the time
induced me to renew my petitions to the dear saint.
Yielding to her wishes, I joined sacrifice to prayer with
redoubled confidence. What was my astonishment when,
on the night of September 10, Sceur ‘Thérése de |’Enfant

406 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

Jésus came herself to me and said: “ Be generous; you
will soon be cured; I promise it.’ She then disappeared.
In the morning, the three Sisters who were sleeping in the
infirmary were greatly surprised to find rose-petals of
different colours scattered around my bed. They were
the heralds of my cure. But there were yet a few days
of waiting, during which I suffered a real martyrdom and
was reduced to the last extremity. It was only on the
evening of September 21 that, after a most violent attack,
I suddenly and very unexpectedly fell asleep to awake on
the following morning completely cured. Instead of
suffering, I experienced a feeling of general well-being
and was very hungry. I rose joyously and asked per-
mission to assist at Mass. My good Mother-Superior
prudently obliged me to go back to bed, where I was served
with a plentiful breakfast. My complete cure was soon
apparent, and I was enabled to resume my regular duties.
I have from that time enjoyed perfect health, and I
cherish feelings of profound gratitude towards Sceur
Thérése de l’Enfant Jésus which I would like to make
known to all.’’!

This miracle attested by the formal certificates of
renowned doctors was selected, together with the cure of
the abbé Anne, as that on which to found the papal Decree
attesting the reality of Thérése’s miracles.

The first Decree, signed on August 14, had affirmed that
the Servant of God had practised virtue to an heroic
degree. We have already noted in our chapter on the
“Little Way of Spiritual Childhood ”’ the admirable
Discourse given by Pope Benedict XV on that occasion.
The soul of the saintly Pontiff, naturally inclined to the
doctrine of humility and confiding abandonment, poured
forth from his heart, as we may remember, a masterly
and enlightened résumé of 'Thérése’s method which he
authoritatively pronounced “ the secret of holiness.”

1 Cited in the fournal des Pélerins, etc., of October 5 to 18,
1924.

FIRST PHASES OF HER GLORIFICATION 407

The Decree of Approbation of her miracles was given
on February 11, 1923. His Holiness Pius XI borrowed
from Manzoni, for whose jubilee preparations were then
being made, a beautiful comparison to exalt the little
saint’s humility. “‘ God it is,” says the poet, “‘ who has
created the pine-tree that braves the storm and the willow
that bends in the hand, the fir-tree that resists the winter,
and the poplar that fears not the floods. He also it is
who has brought into being the flower that displays the
magnificence of its colouring for Him alone, that exhales
towards heaven its perfume, and in silence fades and dies.”
To this the Holy Father adds: ‘‘ This silent flower, these
petals of resplendent hue, this perfume which fills the air,
this beauty that displays itself only for the eyes of God,
is not this the little Thérése de l’Enfant Jésus ?’”

Some weeks later, on the occasion of the Decree de tuto,
announcing that the final steps towards the Beatification
of so fruitful a wonder - worker might in all certainty
be taken, the Sovereign Pontiff, when about solemnly to
place the “‘ little Queen’ in the ranks of the Beatified,
spoke the touching address already mentioned, in which
he exalted this time Thérése’s charity and called her
“the true flower of love come from heaven to earth to
astonish heaven and earth.’

Before the public glorification of the humble child of
Lisieux and the signal homage reserved for her by the
Holy See, a ceremony was necessary, a ceremony which
was to offer to the people of her native France, and more
especially to those who had known her from her early
years, an unforgettable spectacle.

1 Discourse of His Holiness Pope Pius XI on the occasion of
the Approbation of her miracles, February 11, 1923. He had
described Sceur Thérése on the same day as an “ exquisitely
fine miniature of perfect holiness.’”’ He called her, besides,
“his dear star,’ a “miracle of virtues and a prodigy of
miracles.”

2 Discourse of His Holiness Pius XI on the promulgation of
the Decree de tuto, March 19, 1923.

408 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

On August 9 and 10, 1917, the remains of the Servant
of God had been exhumed a second time, and for the
first time officially identified. Before the Beatification,
these venerated remains had to be translated to the Carmel
and identified again with more solemn ceremony. The
translation was fixed for March 26, 1923. At no period
perhaps in its history, not for centuries at all events, had
Lisieux witnessed so great a celebration. On that morn-
ing, fifty thousand pilgrims arrived in the town. With
repeated Aves, they awaited the opening of the cemetery,
where, under the direction of the Bishop and the civil
authorities, the work of exhuming the precious coffin was
proceeding. By a special permission, a poor woman who
had come from Angers obtained entrance to the graveside.
She carried in her arms her little god-daughter who was
suffering from spinal disease and unable to move a limb.
Already the grave had been opened and most of the earth
removed, but some yet remained. The god-mother
leant over and laying the suffering child on this earthy
bed so nearly in contact with the sacred relics, com-
menced to pray fervently. After a few moments, the
poor half-paralysed little one sat straight up; the child
who for months had been unable to walk, came unaided
from the glorious tomb where she had recovered strength
and activity. ‘That was not all. Scarcely had the slabs
placed over the coffin been loosened, than a distinct per-
fume of roses came from the tomb, reaching the workmen
and the other bystanders who proclaimed with admira-
tion the reality of the phenomenon.

When the legal formalities had been completed, the
coffin was placed on a carriage richly adorned with white
drapery embroidered with silver thread, and the “‘ little
Queen,” escorted by more than two hundred priests and
all the communities of the town, by twenty Catholic
delegations, by a group of officers from every rank, includ-
ing even a guard of honour from the American Legion
with drawn swords, and a multitude of people from every

FIRST PHASES OF HER GLORIFICATION 409

province in France, set out, this time in triumph, on the
road to her convent. Before the departure from the
cemetery, nature which for twenty-five years had decorated
her grave with the wild flowers she had loved so well,
seemed desirous of paying a last tribute of homage to
Thérése. “‘ The sun shines in radiant magnificence just
above the horizon, lighting up the beautiful valley of the
Orbiquet that encircles with so much charm the cemetery
of Lisieux. All is light and loveliness in this springtime
scene, and around the glorified remains of the angelic
saint the brightest sunbeams play and form an aureole.’”!

At last the procession set out; ‘‘little Thérése’”’ departed
for ever, making this, her last journey, in all the splendour
of an apotheosis. The immense cortége, extending over
two kilometres, formed an imposing sight, so grave and
recollected. Not a hymn, no sound of trumpet nor
joyous bells broke the stillness; the laws of the Church
forbade any manifestation resembling religious cult until
Rome had given its official decision. But the murmured
decades of the rosary alternated unceasingly with the
recitation of psalms from the common of virgins. It is
not surprising, then, that in answer to this great united
prayer, a new host of miracles should come from the hands
of the beloved saint. One was the cure of a badly
wounded soldier who for fifteen months had lost the use
of his legs and who recovered suddenly as the carriage
bearing the precious relics passed by. Another, that of
a lady from Paris suffering from a serious malady of the
stomach and unable to take food without acute pain.
She returned joyously from Lisieux, completely cured.
A third was the case of a blind girl whose eyes were
opened to behold with rapture the holy relics arrive at
the threshold of the Carmel.

What a difference between the isolation of the lowly
hearse which on October 4, 1897, bore the unknown

1 La Bienheureuse Thérése de Enfant Fésus: sa béatification,
p. 71. Album of the Fétes, published by the Carmel of Lisieux,

410 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

Carmelite to the grave and this triumphal chariot that,
twenty-six years later, brought back to her convent the
glorious virgin amidst the fervent exultation of devoted
thousands. Exultabunt Domino ossa humiliata Never
perhaps was the Divine promise so magnificently fulfilled.

Heralded by the first rich notes of the new organ, the
coffin, covered with cloth of gold, was brought into the
chapel where little Thérése Martin had so often knelt
in prayer before her entrance into Carmel.

After the second canonical recognition, her glorified
relics were divided, the Postulator of the Cause, Rev.
Father Rodrigo of St Francis of Paula, delegate of the
Sovereign Pontiff, taking such portion of them as he was
to bring to Rome. The more important relics were
placed in the base of the rich shrine prepared for them.
The rest were enclosed in the tinted marble figure repre-
senting 'Thérése in her last sleep.

This first triumph was but the prelude of others which
the supreme authority of the Church held in store for the
“little flower ” of Lisieux. On April 29, 1923, Thérése’s
beatitude in the glory of Heaven was proclaimed by the
Head of the Church. In the splendidly decorated Basilica
of the Vatican were assembled forty-five archbishops and
bishops, all the ambassadors to the Holy See headed by
the specially delegated French ambassador, together with
the prelates and dignitaries from the various religious
Orders and an immense concourse of the faithful.

When all had taken their places according to hierarchical
order, the function commenced with the reading of the
pontifical Brief. ‘This Brief, after having extolled, with
the Apocalypse, the prerogatives of virginity, set forth
briefly Thérése’s life and her “little way of spiritual
childhood,” noted her extraordinary power of inter-
cession, and in conclusion conferred on her the honours
of Beatification with the privileges which belong to it—
namely, public exposition of her relics, Mass and Office

1 Psalm 1 19.

FIRST PHASES OF HER GLORIFICATION 4iI

for the diocese of Bayeux as well as for the churches and
convents of the Carmelite Order.

Holy Church had spoken; little Thérése Martin had
become Blessed Thérése de |’Enfant Jésus. Mgr Lem-
monier, Bishop of Bayeux, in a voice trembling with
emotion, intoned the Te Deum, and suddenly a blaze of
light filled the immense nave. In one second, all the
chandeliers were ablaze; the “‘ Glory of Bernini,” in the
centre of which was the picture of Thérése, gleamed in
the shining of a thousand lights, and the new Beata was
seen in the midst of a wonderful radiance.

The painting represented Thérése with arms extended
in ecstasy, gently rising heavenwards, borne on the clouds,
while two angels with their eyes fixed upon her, unrolled
scrolls bearing the words, ‘‘ Way of Childhood,” and,
“I will spend my heaven in doing good upon earth.”

The vast congregation trembled with enthusiasm.
Certain it is, that were it not for the reverence due to
the holy place, loud acclamation would have hailed the
newly Beatified.

The hour had come for solemn celebration of the Mass,
the Mass composed in honour of the dear saint. ‘To the
Bishop of Bayeux was reserved the privilege of being
celebrant. With sweet emotion, the hundreds of priests
who formed the choir repeated in union with the fervent
prelate, ‘“‘ Lord, who hast said ‘Unless you become as
little children you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven,’
Grant us, we beseech Thee, that we may follow Blessed
Thérése in the way of humility and simplicity of heart
so faithfully that we merit to share her eternal reward.’

The morning ceremony was ended. As the crowd
filed slowly out from the great building, magistrates and
soldiers with eyes dimmed by emotion mingled with the
throng of monks and nuns. Words of joyful enthusiasm
were heard on all sides, as those of an old officer who
had been through the war and had come hundreds of

1 Prayer from the Mass of Blessed Thérése.

412 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

miles to do honour to his “ little sister of the trenches ”
and went away exclaiming with genuine fervour: ‘“ Ah,
what a great day; how happy lam!” ‘Towards evening,
His Holiness Pius XI went to St Peter’s for the first time
on the occasion of a beatification, Thérése being his
first Beata. He was escorted thither by an immense
cortége of Swiss Guards, Noble Guards, Chamberlains,
Prelates and Cardinals who surrounded the Sedia gesta-
toria. The Holy Father descended from the Sedia and —
kneeling like the humblest of the faithful, prayed silently
to her whom he had just declared Blessed. With coun-
tenance expressive of supplication and homage he raised
his eyes towards the “‘ Gloria.” ‘There he beheld her
smiling, the humble child whom his infallible word had
just exalted, she, the untiring strewer of roses whom he
has chosen for “‘ his patron and counsellor.”’ Could she
remain indifferent to this homage from the Head of the
Church who was pleased to recognize in her the radiant
“Star” of his pontificate? No. In the silence of the
Vatican she had already given him proof of her mysterious
help. ‘She has in truth thrown light on questions
that I was unable to solve,” declared the Holy Father.
He even added in confidence: ‘‘ These days I feel quite
near me the presence of Blessed Thérése.’”*

Here then we have the “little maiden of Lisieux ”
crowned with the aureole. ‘The Catholic nations which
had one and all received from the cherished saint favours
beyond number and had been blessed by multiplied
miracles felt bound to vie with one another in celebrating
her entrance into glory. During the remainder of 1923,
there was a succession of solemn celebrations in her
honour in the old cathedrals and convents of Europe as
well as in the younger churches of the New World.
The spectacle was as touching as it was magnificent, for
the fervent prayers of faithful clients obtained unhoped-
for favours.

' La Bienheureuse Thérése de Enfant Jésus: sa béatification ,
Dy lio.

FIRST PHASES OF HER GLORIFICATION A413

“It is a torrent of roses that I shall now shower
down,” Thérése had said. And these wondrous roses
from heaven, cures, conversions, protection against every
ill of soul and body, descended on grateful multitudes
in the measure in which earthly roses made Thérése’s
sanctuaries beautiful here below and proclaimed her
power and munificence.

The most renowned orators lent their voices in order
- to express the grateful thanks of these multitudes to her
who wearied not of bestowing help, consolation and
blessings. Amongst these eloquent panegyrics of Blessed
Thérése one delivered by R. P. Perroy in the cathedral
of Lyons deserves special mention. The eminent orator
feared, seemingly, that the sight of so many roses strewn
in the streets and churches would give the people an
incorrect idea of Thérése’s sanctity and prove harmful
to their devotion. For this reason he vigorously attacked
the false notion which might occupy certain minds.

“ Little Thérése de l’Enfant Jésus, let me defend
you against those who represent you as walking at your
ease in a fragrant rose garden. I want to tell the world
that your soul was above all virile; I wish to tell them
that you could take your place between Joan of Arc and
Margaret Mary. I desire to make known that your
combats against self were the combats of God. I would
declare you heroic amongst heroines because you have
chosen the way most contrary to nature, the way of little
ones. I desire to say, that if every knee on earth bends
before you, if your name has become the most renowned
in the world, it is not alone because you bring roses
but because, with the Crucified for whom your flowers
have exhaled their fragrance, you have been obedient
even unto the Cross.”

But how they longed at the Carmel of Lisieux to
venerate beneath her glorious halo her whom humility

1 Cited in La Bienheureuse Thérese del Enfant Fésus: sa béatifi-
cation, p. 140.

414 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

had kept so hidden during nine years within the austere
convent walls. Friends outside liked to think of the
sisters of the new Beata behind the sombre grilles kneeling
in solemn liturgical prayer before her whom they had
formed and trained in divine love.

To meet the requirements of the faithful in view of
the approaching splendid ceremonies, the Carmel chapel
had been enlarged. All was ready for the triduum of
the 28th, 29th and 30th May, when Cardinal Vico, Ponent
of the Cause and Papal Legate, arrived at Lisieux.

Yet, this triduum had to be of a somewhat informal
character, as the restricted dimensions of the Carmel
sanctuary would not allow of the more elaborate cele-
brations which took place later in Lisieux and in which
a great number of bishops took part. Nevertheless, the
presence of the Papal Legate, together with the Primate
of Normandy and the Bishops of Troyes and Evreux
drew to the town a fervent throng, including several
princes of royal blood and official representatives of
numerous Catholic nations.

The preacher on this occasion was the Rev. Pére
Martin, superior of the Diocesan Missionaries of Vendée,
whose learned and devotional treatise on the elements
of The Little Way of Spiritual Childhood had gained
universal esteem. Again he embarked on his favourite
subject, this time with such power of persuasion that he
inspired eminent personages present with the desire of
being numbered among the “little souls” so favoured
by Jesus.

After three days of solemn celebration, the precious
relics enclosed in the beautiful silver-gilt reliquary
presented by Brazil were borne in procession through
the poorest lanes as well as the principal streets of the
town. ‘Then the solemn benediction given in the
cathedral by the Roman cardinal was, for the moment,
the farewell of this prince of the Church to the humble
nun whom, by his active and benevolent zeal, he

FIRST PHASES OF HER GLORIFICATION 415

had caused to be so quickly inscribed amongst the
Beatified.

The Carmel had with recollected devotion offered
homage and congratulation to its gentle Beata. The
people of Lisieux who had so often seen “little Thérése ”
pass through their streets, and had as often remarked
her modesty and candour, wished in turn to celebrate
the memory of the saintly child. This time, the purple
of three cardinals, Bourne, Primate of England, Dougherty,
Archbishop of Philadelphia, and Touchet, Bishop of
Orleans, was to throw its reflection on the golden reli-
quary, while a crown of fifteen bishops and mitred
abbots formed an aureole around the relics of the Beati-
fied. On the morning of August 6, the entire town
was in festal array. Girandoles and festoons decorated
every house-front, and the grimacing carved figures of
the old pointed gables were hidden beneath sweet-
scented flower garlands. Each church in the town was
to have its own Pontifical Office in presence of the
venerated relics of her who in former days had so often
lingered to pray before their altars. The reliquary
surrounded with lilies and white roses was to penetrate
into every corner of Lisieux on this great occasion.

One of the most touching incidents of the triumphal
procession was the visit of “little 'Thérése”’ to her old
convent school. Under the shade of the lime-trees
where she had played as a child, the Magnificat was
chanted by her former teachers as the golden reliquary
halted for a moment before the statue where Thérése
Martin on the day of her first Communion had pro-
nounced her act of consecration to Mary. She came
now to thank her dear Benedictines for the example and
counsels that had helped her forward on her way towards
the glory of the elect.

The 8th of August, the last day of the Triduum, was the
‘“‘ crowning splendour.” ‘The Pontifical Mass was cele-
brated that morning at the cathedral by Cardinal Bourne.

416 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

Late in the day after Vespers, Cardinal 'Touchet was to
preach the panegyric. ‘“‘ What shall this eagle say of
the dove?” murmured one of the bishops. The eagle
began by capturing with a glance the attention of the
six thousand people who thronged the vast church.
He then winged his flight towards the dazzling heights
where he was wont to soar.

The Bishop of Orleans had come to pay a debt of
gratitude to Blessed Thérése. Was it not she who, in
answer to the Prelate’s prayer, when the Process for the
canonization of Joan of Arc was about to be interrupted,
had caused Pius X to revoke his decision, thus hastening
the supreme exaltation of La Pucelle? The Cardinal
dwelt on her wonderful power of intercession with God,
and showed that this power was derived from her incom-
parable love—ardent, generous, unwearied love—which
drew the Almighty towards the humble child of His
Heart, and won for her the sweetest intimacy of Divine
love. He then went on to speak of her réle of consolatrix
amongst the soldiers in the Great War. Suddenly address-
ing himself directly to the two Cardinal visitors, he called
upon them to proclaim to their people at home that
France had a horror of these hecatombs, that her one
aspiration was for peace, a peace which would respect her
rights. ... This unexpected and touching finale was
received with prolonged applause.

After the liturgical ceremony, another procession, the
most majestic of all, formed in the open space before the
cathedral. It would seem as if the little saint in her
flower-laden car, more gracious than ever in her solemn)
magnificence, was making a royal visit of courtesy and
benevolence to her delighted fellow citizens. Around the
golden reliquary crosiers and mitres gleamed in the
summer sun. ‘There, too, shone and glistened the gold
on many a military uniform, while French and foreign
flags floated in the air or, fluttering, touched caressingly
like angels’ wings those who stood beneath. But hidden

FIRST PHASES OF HER GLORIFICATION 417

from the eyes of all were the celestial roses which the
little sower scattered untiringly along the way.

Amongst the hundred thousand in the procession at
Lisieux that day were many victims of disease, many
who were weighed down by sorrow. To a number of
these came the grace of consolation or of bodily or
spiritual healing as the precious relics passed by.

Now, the roses that adorned the streets and public
places have disappeared. The garlands are gone. But
those days of triumph had their influence throughout
France. By uniting at Lisieux with the same spiritual
purpose and in one and the same devotion the most
distinguished and highly qualified representatives of the
allied nations, they had done more, perhaps, to con-
solidate international friendship than by long diplomatic
couferences.

Was the “little Queen ” to rest content now beneath
her glorious laurels? To do so would be contrary to
her designs. As long as there are tears to dry here below,
as long as there are burdens to lighten or wounds to heal,
she will ‘‘ come down ” according to her generous promise
to apply to the wounds of poor humanity the balm that
heals. On the very day of her beatification, thirty new
miracles were recorded.

Scarcely had the honour of public cult been conferred
on her than Sceur Thérése de l|’Enfant Jésus, so generous
ever in helping priests, came to the aid of two princes
of the Church who were suffering from severe and dan-
yerous maladies, Cardinal Granito Pignatelli di Belmonte,
bishop of Albano, and Cardinal Tosi, archbishop of
Milan. Through her intercession, both were restored
to health in a marvellous manner.

Considering these miraculous happenings and others
each day more numerous, an assistant-general of an im-
portant congregation thus expressed his conviction:
“The glory of Thérése steadily increases.... But it 1s
still far from reaching its full height, This little saint

27

j
418 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

will yet accomplish marvels to which those we now see
are but a prelude. In the kingdom of heaven this child
holds the palm of victory, and she will manifest her
power.”

The religious had prophesied aright. Shortly after-
wards, new miracles of the first order were brought
forward for examination by the Sacred Congregation of
Rites. Amongst the numerous cures then obtained
through the intercession of Blessed Thérése, two were
specially singled out for the Process of Canonization,
that of a young Belgian girl, Marie Pellemans, and of
a religious of a Congregation called Chieppine at Parma,
Gabrielle Trimusi. Both were suffering from grave
tubercular disease, and through the invocation of Blessed
Thérése, each obtained a complete cure.

According as her miracles grew in number and fre-
quency, the faith and devotion of the people towards
the wonder-worker became in itself a marvel.

The reports of unanimous veneration, coming succes-
sively from every continent, were to Rome as the ex-
pression of an international plebiscite demanding that
the Holy Father should officially sanction Thérése’s right
to the confidence of Christendom. This unanimous
voice of the people, together with the evidence of miracles,
brought Pius XI to an immediate decision. The
canonical statutes appointing a long delay between
beatification and canonization should yield, he said, to
the supplication of the Catholic world. Twenty-eight
years after her death, and but two years after her beati-
fication, while yet her four elder sisters were living in
the sanctity of the cloister, the “‘ little Queen ” of Alencon,
the “ little flower ” of Les Buissonnets, the Angel of the
Carmel of Lisieux, the untiring ‘‘ Strewer of Roses,”’ the
providential helper of the outcast poor and of the
suffering, was, to the indescribable joy of the universe,
to become St THERESE DE L’ENFANT JEsUus.

The 17th of May, 1925, saw the triumph of the humble

FIRST PHASES OF HER GLORIFICATION 419

nun in Rome’s magnificent Basilica of St Peter, that earthly
reflection of heavenly splendour. In good time, ambas-
sadors from the principal Catholic nations, and the
chevaliers of the Papal Orders in full dress uniform, took
their places in the tribunes to pay homage to this well-
beloved of the celestial Spouse.

Soon the eager eyes of the vast congregation beheld
the approach of the Papal procession, the largest and
most distinguished perhaps that had passed beneath the
cupola of Michelangelo for centuries. ‘To-day, thirty-
four cardinals, over two hundred archbishops and bishops,
innumerable prelates and thousands of.religious walked
before the Pontifical Sedia, while behind came the college
of apostolic protonotaries. The first groups in the
procession had filed past when universal and prolonged
acclamation hailed the appearance of a splendid banner
bearing a painting of Blessed Thérése.

Beneath his jewelled mitre, the countenance of Pius XI
was radiant with joy: was not the unprecedented triumph
of her whom he has proclaimed Star of his pontificate,
Advocate of his dearest causes, second Angel guardian of
his life, was not her triumph also his own?

Slowly, beneath the brilliance of electric garlands that
decorated marble wall and golden ceiling with roses of
light, hailed with enthusiasm by the unanimous voice of
50,000 faithful, the Pontiff was borne to the splendid
throne erected in the apse, in front of St Peter’s Chair.
The cardinals, patriarchs, primates, archbishops, bishops
and abbots then came forward to offer their obedience,
ratifying beforehand by this public act of homage to the
supreme Head of the Church the decision he was about
to give.

The moment had come to declare solemnly to the
Universal Church the entrance of “little Thérése ”’ into
the glory of the thrice holy God. The customary formula
of postulation was read, and the invocations to the Holy
Spirit repeated. Then came the solemn words of the

20 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS
4 ‘

Secretary of Briefs: ‘‘ Arise; Peter is about to speak by
the mouth of Pius.” Tense silence held captive that
immense assembly. Seated on the chair of Peter,
Pius XI, crowned with the pontifical mitre, his face
radiant with celestial joy, pronounced the formula which
was to send heavenwards a fervent Hosanna from the
Universal Church:

‘In honour of the Holy Trinity and each of the Divine
Persons, for the exaltation of the Catholic faith and the
progress of Christian religion, by the authority of Our Lord
Jesus Christ, of the holy Apostles Peter and Paul and Our
own, having carefully deliberated and frequently implored
help from God, having taken counsel with Our venerable
brothers, the Cardinals of the holy Roman Church, the
Patriarchs, Archbishops, and Bishops present in the city,
We declare Blessed Thérése de Enfant Jésus to be a Saint,
We define that such she is, We inscribe her in the catalogue
of saints, and We decide that each year, on the day of her
birth (in heaven), that is September 30, her memory shall
be, ought to be devoutly commemorated by the Universal
Church. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of
the Holy Ghost, Amen.”

The infallible teacher has spoken. Immediately from
the cupola burst forth the exultant flourish of the silver
trumpets like a vivat from heaven. The bells of St Peter’s
pealed, and with their deep notes were mingled the joyous
tones of every bell in the Eternal City; the acclamations
of the multitude swelled into one great thunder of
applause wherein could be distinguished many a voice
broken by sobs of emotion. But it remained to the Pope
to lead the final chorus of joy. He intoned the Te Deum,
and accompanied by the Schola of the Basilica, continued
it to the end. Then he chanted, for the first time, the
prayer proper to St Thérése de l’Enfant Jésus.

Now came the splendour of the Papal Mass with its
accustomed ritual, and an atmosphere of supernatural
joy seemed to invest each action with a penetrating

FIRST PHASES OF HER GLORIFICATION 421

sweetness. After the Gospel, the Holy Father, in the
course of a striking address, spoke in exalted praise, as
his predecessor had done, of the “little way of spiritual
childhood.” “ We conceive the hope to-day,” he said,
“of seeing arise within the souls of Christ’s faithful a
holy eagerness to acquire this evangelical childhood, which
consists in thinking and acting under the influence of
virtue as a child feels and acts naturally. Just as little
children whose vision is not obscured by any shadow of
sin, who are free from every prompting of passion, enjoy
peaceful possession of their innocence, and, unacquainted
with malice or dissimulation, speak and act in accordance
with what they truly think, and reveal their real selves
to others, so did ‘Thérése appear more angelic than
human, endowed as she was with child-like simplicity
in the practice of virtue and righteousness. . . .”

The great liturgical acts succeeded each other in their
majestic order, while the sweet and solemnly impressive
symphony from the trumpets of the Palatine Guard served
to increase devotion. Finally, amid the joyous acclama-
tions of the entire congregation, the Sovereign Pontiff,
crowned with the tiara, returned through the vast nave, con-
tinually giving his blessing right and left to all as he passed.

Of the hundreds of thousands who had come to Rome
for this glorious day, only 50,000 were able to enter the
basilica. The remainder stood outside in the square of
St Peter’s, awaiting their turn to pay their first tribute
of devotion to the new Saint. As a quite exceptional
concession in their favour, the Holy Father ordered that
the church with its splendid illuminations should remain
open all the day, and that the solemn Vespers of St Thérése
de l’Enfant Jésus should be chanted by the Chapter of
St Peter’s.

That night, the pilgrims, as well as the Roman people
themselves, witnessed a spectacle that had never been
revived since 1870. The gigantic cupola, the basilica
facade, and even the double colonnade of St Peter’s

422 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

square were illumined by thousands of torches which
marked out their architecture in lines of light throwing _
the reflection afar, even over the distant waters of the
Tiber. The crowds of pilgrims that surged around the
Vatican feasted their eyes on the fairy-like scene. Many
amongst them had, no doubt, read the Histoire d’une
Ame, and recalled Thérése’s striking words: ‘‘ God’s
glory; that is my only ambition; mine I abandon to Him,”
and witnessing the quite unique triumph of the humble
Carmelite, they would ask themselves what glory must
not the Almighty have in store for His elect in the splendour
of heaven.

Rome had exalted “ little Thérése ”’ with incomparable
éclat. The Catholic world now owed her a testimony
of devotion worthy of her new title. It would be im-
possible to describe the magnificence of the solemnities
with which every capital in Europe and the New World
hailed the new saint; even villages the most obscure did
their part. But Lisieux, naturally, should surpass all
in honouring its illustrious child. We shall endeavour
to give a short account of these celebrations in that little
town of Normandy.

We can well imagine that, behind the grille of the
Carmel, the 17th of May was not spent in the usual unvaried
round of ordinary days in the cloister. In the presence
of two presiding bishops, solemn high Mass had been
celebrated, commencing at the very moment when the
Sovereign Pontiff approached the Altar in St Peter’s;
and when Pius XI was proclaiming the supreme exalta-
tion of Thérese, Rev. Pére Martin, whose efforts that
glorious moment crowned, was commenting with im-
pressive words on the Pontifical formula. That evening,
another panegyric was preached by the same devoted
apostle of St 'Thérése, and the illumination of the little
cupola of the Carmel appeared as a distant reflection of
the flaming torches on the dome of St Peter’s.

This, however, was but the private homage of the

FIRST PHASES OF HER GLORIFICATION 423

Carmel of Lisieux to its beloved saint. It was fitting
that in every corner of that town where her youthful days
were passed in innocence, in every dwelling where her
childlike virtue had exhaled its fragrance, another visit
of her glorified relics should manifest to the ever-in-
creasing throng of pilgrims the fidelity of God who has
promised to exalt the humble. It was fitting, above all,
that the Convent where she had prayed, suffered, and
loved unto death should be from henceforth singled out
as one of the holy places sanctioned by the Church for
the veneration of the faithful. The Bishop of Bayeux
resolved, therefore, to commemorate the great event of the
17th of May by a novena of solemn functions from the
4th to the rath of July, during which would be consecrated
the renovated and enlarged chapel whose little sanctuary,
now extended, had witnessed Thérése’s reception of the
religious habit. More numerous than in August, 1923,
came bishops and prelates, leading with them multitudes
of pilgrims eager to witness the approaching solemnities
and devotional celebrations.

After the consecration of the chapel, by which Mer
Lemonnier opened the series of novena celebrations,
Pontifical High Mass was celebrated each morning and
an instruction given by Pére Martin, ever untiring in his
study of the different aspects of the saint’s life and teach-
ing. On Sunday July 12, an immense procession of the
relics filed through the streets, permitting the dear saint
to visit thus once more Les Buissonnets, the Benedictines,
and the Cathedral before returning to her Carmel shrine.

These celebrations had as yet, however, satisfied the
devotion of only the more intimate friends of the saint.
It was but right, therefore, that Lisieux should provide
solemnities on a grander scale for those who had been
unable to go to Rome, solemnities that would bear the
character of public homage to the child who was already
“loved throughout the whole world.’

1 Expression of H.H. Pius XI.

424 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

The supreme glorification, then, of the ‘‘ Little Flower ”
in her own native land was fixed for September 30, 1925.
On that day, His Eminence Cardinal Vico, sent as the
Pope’s Legate for the second time, was to place in the
hand of the recumbent marble figure, representing Thérése
in her last sleep, the precious golden rose presented and
blessed by the Holy Father for that purpose. A double
triduum had been announced in preparation for this great
day, and throngs of pilgrims, headed by their respective
bishops, flocked to Lisieux from every quarter of the
globe.

This time, the reliquary of the triumphant little saint
was to visit in succession the different churches where
she had so often knelt in adoration, communicated, offered
her sufferings and her life for the glory of her Well-beloved.
Pontifical Masses were then celebrated in presence of
the venerated relics at Saint-Jacques, at Saint-Désir,
at the Cathedral of Saint-Pierre and at the Carmel.
Present at each were numerous Prelates, and the music,
vocal and instrumental, liturgical and exceptionally
beautiful, was rendered with masterly perfection. It was
fitting, too, that these days of rejoicing should be made
the occasion of eloquent panegyrics on the saint. But
what orator could for several days in succession maintain
a height of eloquence in keeping with the subject ? Pére
Martin once again undertook to extol her with whose life
and teaching he was so familiar, and his prolonged contact
with the mind of 'Thérése, his close study of her virtues
inspired him with a loftiness of thought and fervour
of language greater than he had ever before attained.

Pére Martin preached in the chapel of the Carmel.
The congregations in the other churches of the town were
addressed successively by Abbé Thellier of Poncheville,
an eloquent and convincing exponent of every holy
cause, Canon Barette of Brussels, eager to make known
in detail by simple and precise language the miraculous
cure of Mlle Pellemans, and that inspiring and apostolic

FIRST PHASES OF HER GLORIFICATION 425

preacher, Mgr du Bois de la Villerabel, Archbishop of
Rouen.

The afternoon of September 30 was to be the crowning
of these magnificent celebrations in honour of the new
saint. From early morning, pilgrims of every nation
moved shoulder to shoulder through the gaily decorated
and flower-strewn streets of the ancient town. At the
Carmelite chapel, a few hundred privileged persons had
been present at the Pontifical Office, celebrated with all
the solemnity of a Roman function by Cardinal Vico.
Afterwards, they had watched with tender emotion the
placing of the golden rose in the hand of Thérése.

The procession that formed and marched through the
streets a few hours later was the most distinguished and
splendid, and, at the same time, the most devotional,
recollected and edifying that Normandy had witnessed
since the middle ages. Along the flag-bedecked streets,
beneath the many triumphal arches, more than thirty
bishops from the old world and the new, an Oriental
Patriarch, and three Cardinals followed the saint’s relics.
The reliquary, carried by Carmelite Fathers and sur-
rounded bya guard d’élite of officers, was escorted, we may
say, by a whole nation. Forty national flags floated
proudly over that procession manifesting the spirit of
forty different peoples.

Nor was it the splendour alone of the sight that made
an impression upon the mind. There was also food
for reflection—how this town, formerly somewhat in-
different in spiritual matters, and perhaps a little too
much given to pleasure, had become a mystical garden
refreshed by the divine dew of tears. Yes, many were
the tears shed in Lisieux on that September 30. As the
reliquary moved slowly onward beneath a shower of
roses, numbers of men, with heads bared beneath the
burning sun, dried tear-dimmed eyes, undeterred by
human respect.

The procession wended its way to the wonderful public

426 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

garden, that ancient property of the bishops of Lisieux,
of which the little town is justly proud. On the terrace
at the end of this garden had been erected an immense
altar, in front of which the ecclesiastical dignitaries ranged
themselves in order.

The entire procession then filed into the vast parterre
before the altar. The spectacle presented was one of
incomparable grandeur. The rich velvety lawn, with
flower-beds like rubies set in the pale emerald of the
sward, the brilliantly coloured banners, the splendour
of the sacred vestments sparkling with gold; on the
terrace above, near the altar, the purple of the Cardinals
contrasting with the violet robes of Bishops and Prelates;
giant trees, with their wealth of autumn-tinted leaves
throwing flickering shadows over the whole; such was the
splendid court, such the surroundings of the “little
Queen ” on that September 30, a scene which even the
fairest dreams of her childhood had never fore-
shadowed.

Before this illustrious and immense audience Pére
Martin once more spoke of the saint. In eloquent words,
he outlined the life-picture of her whose soul floated
unseen over the throng. ‘Then, thousands of strong manly
voices wakened the echoes with the affirmations of the
Credo, 'Time had retraced its steps for an instant to the
middle ages when the words of St Bernard inspired an
enthusiastic multitude to ransom the Holy Places.

That night, at the moment when, twenty-eight years
before, the soul of 'Thérése had taken its flight to God in
an ecstasy of love, the brilliantly illuminated town en-
veloped the monastery chapel as with a circle of fire,
while the little dome, with its bright cross surmounted
by a shining star, recalled vividly the memory of the
“dear Star” of Pius XI.

As they passed by the brightly lighted facades, the
older inhabitants spoke to one another about the un-
expected fame which the Carmel shed over their town.

FIRST PHASES OF HER GLORIFICATION 42,7

Even those who in their hearts placed love of the home-
land first, felt a thrill of pride and joy. They well knew
that, although the splendour of this night might pale and
pass away, the glory of Lisieux would never more grow
dim.

APPENDIX
(a)

UNPUBLISHED LETTERS OF ST THERESE DE L’ ENFANT
, JEsuS TO THE GUERIN FAMILY

FRAGMENTS

id ] “XHESE letters were not sent to the author in time
to be used in the body of the work. They shall
contribute to the interest of the text in the next

edition. As the unpublished letters of the saint are

comparatively rare, we thought it well to insert in this
edition the following excerpts, feeling that they will
certainly be appreciated by our readers.

They are published with the consent of Mme La Néele,
née Jeanne Guérin, who has handed them over to the

Carmel of Lisieux.

To her Cousin, feanne Guérin,

My DEAR LITTLE JEANNE, July, 1887.

I suspect that you are not sorry to hear no longer
my sermons on death, and to escape from my eyes “ which
fascinated you.’

I have to announce to you the death of eight of my little
silkworms; I have now only four. Céline has given them
so much care in my absence, that she has succeeded . . .
in making them almost all die of vexation or apoplexy.
I greatly fear that the remaining four are attacked with
the germ of their brothers’ malady, and will follow them
to the grave: 3°; ;

1 She had come back from a holiday in Trouville with the
Guérin family.

4.28

APPENDIX 429

It seems quite strange to find myself at Les Buissonnets
once more. I was really surprised this morning to see
Céline at my side. .

To Mme Guérin.
Rome,
November 14, 1887.

My DEAREST AUNTIE,

If you but knew how happy your little niece would
be if she could be near to greet you on your feast-day.
But since this happiness is denied her, she desires at
least that a word from her heart should travel over the
mountains in her stead. Poor little word! How in-
sufficient it will be to reveal to my dear aunt all the
affection I have for her... .

I do not know how I shall speak to the Pope; indeed,
if the good God did not guide me in everything, I know
not what I should do. But I have such great confidence
in Him that He cannot abandon me; I place all in His
hands.

We do not yet know on what day the audience will be.
It appears that, when giving a public audience, the Holy
Father passes along in front of the faithful; I do not
think he stops. In spite of all, I am determined to speak
to him.

To Mme Guérin.

THE CARMEL,
August 23, 1888.

My DEAR AUNT,

We heard yesterday evening of the death of
Monsieur X.... I find, dear Aunt, that in moments
of great sadness, we must turn our eyes to heaven instead
of weeping. All the saints rejoice because Our Saviour
has now one more added to His elect; a new sun adds its
radiance to the halls of heaven; all there are enraptured,
and they wonder that we can call death that which is

430 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

really the beginning of life; they consider us to be in
a narrow tomb. ... When we think of the death of
the just, we cannot but envy his lot: for him exile is no
more; God alone exists for him now... .

Oh, dear aunt, how many things your little niece would
wish to say.to you. Her heart has so long pondered on
them! This morning, she is quite absorbed in the
thought of the death of saints. . . .

To Mme Guérin.

November 18, 1888.
My pEar AUNT,

This morning, after Communion, I earnestly
prayed Jesus to shower His joys upon you. Alas, it is not
joy He has sent for some time past; it is the Cross, the
Cross alone He has given us to rest on. . . 1 Oh, if no
one else were to suffer but myself, that would be of little
consequence; but I know how greatly our trial affects you
also. I would wish, on your feast-day, to relieve you of
all sadness, to take upon myself all your grief. This
request I have just now made to Him whose Heart beats
in unison with mine. ... I then felt that suffering is
the best that He can give us, and that He gives it only to
His chosen friends. . .

To Mme Guerin.
December 28, 1888.
My pDEAR AUNT,
I want to be the first to wish you a happy New
Year for 1889. When I think that your little niece will
soon be nine months in the Carmel, I cannot get over my
astonishment. How quickly life passes; already I am
sixteen years on earth. Soon we shall be re-united in
heaven. I love these words of the Psalmist: A thousand

1 The Saint here alludes to the first attack of her father’s
illness.

APPENDIX 431

years are in the eyes of the Lord but as yesterday which is
already gone. What rapidity! Oh, I want to work well
while the day of life still shines, for afterwards will come
the night when I shall be unable to do anything. Pray for
your little niece, dear aunt, that she may not abuse the
graces showered on her by God in the little valley of the
Carmel.

To Mme Guérin, whom the saint ts thanking for the wreath
sent for her reception of the habit.

January 2, 1889.

“oe Your little niece is filled with joy. ... How
good you are to her. It is indeed too much; how shall
I thank you? ... But a mother can read the heart of
her child. I will not then be uneasy, for I feel sure that
you will guess how grateful I feel.

The lilies are delightful; one would say that they had
just been plucked. How good of my little cousins to
send them to me. It will be a great joy for me, the day
of my reception, to think that it is they who have adorned
me to go to my divine Fiancé. ‘These flowers will speak
for them to Jesus who, I am sure, will shower His graces
on them and on you also, dearest auntie.

Our mother thinks the wreath very beautiful. Never
have I seen flowers that pleased me so much; lilies are so
pure. I would that my soul were all adorned with them
when going to Jesus, for to have them in my hair is not
sufficient; it is the heart that Jesus always regards... .
Pray that your little niece may be as well adorned in-
teriorly as she is exteriorly.

To M. and Mme Guérin.

December 30, 1889.
My pgEAR UNCLE AND AUNT,
Your Benjamin wishes you, in her turn, a happy
new year. As each day has its last hour, so each year

432 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

sees the arrival of its last evening. In looking back over
the year that is gone, I feel bound to thank the good
God, for if His Hand has held out to us the chalice of
bitterness, His Divine Heart has sustained us in our
trial, What has He in store for us during the year that
is now to begin? ... It is not given to me to penetrate
this mystery; but I beg God to reward a hundred-fold
my dear relatives for all their goodness to us.

The first day of the year contains for me a host of
memories. Once again, I see papa showering his caresses
upon us... . He was so good!.... But why speak
of these memories? This dear father has received the
recompense of his virtues. God has sent him a trial that
is worthy of him. .

To Mme Guérin.
November 17, 1890.

How many memories does not November 19 hold
forme! ... For long beforehand, I looked forward to
it with joy, because it was the feast-day of my beloved
auntie. Now, with the passing of the years, the little
birds have grown, they have spread their wings, and have
flown from the dear nest of their youth. But in growing,
the heart of your little niece has also increased in affection
for you; now, more than ever before, does it realize all
that it owes to you. . . ._ _I have but one means of paying
my debt; poor indeed myself, but having for Spouse a
very rich and powerful King, I charge Him to bestow
bountifully on my dear aunt the treasures of His love,

thus repaying her for all the maternal care with which she
surrounded my early years... .

1 Her father’s sad illness.

APPENDIX 433

To Mme Guérin.
August 10, 1893.

.... Odear aunt, every line that you have written has
revealed your heart to me; it is a heart as tender as that
of the tenderest of mothers. That of your little Thérése
is the heart of a child filled with love and gratitude. . . .
I cannot tell you the happiness I feel in realizing that
my beloved father is in your midst, surrounded with
tenderness and care. God has done for him what He did
for His servant Job; having humiliated Him, he now
showers favours upon him, and it is through you that all
these blessings and all this affection are given... .

To Mme la Neele2

October 22, 1893.
My DEAR JEANNE,

I have delayed very long in thanking you for all
your kindness... . Our mother St Teresa was of so
grateful a disposition, that, as she was wont to say
pleasantly, “her heart could be won with a sardine.”
What would she have said, had she known Francis® and
Jeanne? ...

Our holy Mother also had a sister named Jeanne, and
I have been greatly impressed in reading her Life to see
with what tenderness she watched over her little nephews.
And so, without forgetting the good St Anne, I turn to
St Teresa to obtain through her intercession that I also
-may be an aunt. I do not doubt that she will hear me,
by sending my dear little Jeanne a holy family that will

give great saints to the Church.... The long delay
does not discourage me, for I know that Rome requires
a long time in order to make saints. . . .

1 At the chdteau de la Musse. ,
2 Her cousin Jeanne Guérin, who had married Dr. la Néele.

3 Dr. la Néele. :
2

434 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

To Mme Guerin.
November 17, 1893.

How sweet it is to your little Thérése to offer you her
good wishes for your feast each year. Nevertheless,
I have nothing new to say to you: you have long known
how much I love you.

In affirming this again, dear auntie, I have no fear of
wearying you, and I shall tell you the reason why. When
I am before the Tabernacle, I can say nothing to Our
Saviour but this: ‘‘ My God, Thou knowest that I love
Thee.” And I know that Jesus is not wearied by my
prayer; knowing the powerlessness of His little spouse,
He is satisfied with her good will. I also know well that
the good God has infused into the hearts of mothers
something of the love with which His own Heart overflows.
And she whom I now address has received that maternal
love in so large a measure that I cannot have any fear of
being misunderstood... .

Besides, my powerlessness cannot endure for ever;
in the eternal Fatherland, I shall be able to say to my
dearest auntie many things that human language cannot
convey.

To M. and Mme Guerin.
December 29, 1893.
My DEAR UNCLE AND AUNT,
I have but a few minutes in which to offer you my
wishes for a happy new year. I would, if such were
possible, that this new year should bring you nothing but
consolations. But, alas! the good God, who knows the
reward in store for His friends, often wills that they should
win His treasures by sacrifice. Our Mother, St Teresa,
smiling, spoke these words to Our Saviour, words that
contain so much truth: ‘‘ My God, I do not wonder that
Thou hast so few friends, so badly dost Thou treat
them!’ Nevertheless, in the very midst of the trials

APPENDIX 435

He sends, God is full of tenderness. My dear father’s
illness is to me an evident proof of it. This cross was
the greatest I could imagine; but having allowed us to
taste the bitterness, Our Saviour has willed to sweeten
by the hands of our dear ones the chalice of grief He
had sent, and which I expected to drink to the dregs. . .

O dear uncle and auntie, if you knew how affectionate
and grateful is the heart of your little Thérése.

The hour for matins has come; pardon this wandering
letter, and such scribbling . . .; consider only the heart
of your child.

To Mme Gueérin.
July 16,. 1896.

My pear AUNT,

I would have wished to forestall you, but now
there remains for me only the sweet and pleasant duty
of thanking you for the charming letter I have received.
How good you are to think of your little Thérése. I
assure you that she in turn is not ungrateful.

I would like to tell you something new, but although
I rack my brains, I can find nothing to speak of save
affection for my dear ones . . . and this, far from being
new, is as old as myself... .

You ask me, dear aunt, to give you news of my health
as I would to my mother. That is what I am going to do;
but if I tell you that I am in wonderfully good health, you
will hardly believe me; so I will let the doctor who ex-
amined me yesterday speak. He declared that ‘ I looked
well... .” This declaration has not deterred me from
thinking that I shall soon be allowed “to go and join the
little angels in heaven,” not as a result of my state of
health, but by reason of another declaration made by the
Abbé Lechéne today in the chapel of our Carmel.
Having shown us the illustrious origin of our holy Order,
and compared us to the prophet Elias in strife against the
priests of Baal, he declared that a ‘“‘ period similar to that
of Achab’s persecution was about to begin.’”’ It seemed

436 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

to us as though we were already hastening to martyrdom.

What happiness, dear auntie, if all our family
were to enter heaven on the same day. I seem to see you
smile. ... Perhaps you think that this honour is not
in store for us. One thing is certain; all of us together,
or one after another, shall one day leave this exile for the
Fatherland, and then we shall rejoice over all those things
that receive heaven as the prize. . . .*

To Mme Guerin.

November 16, 1896.
My DEAR AUNT,

Your little niece is sad at the thought of confiding
to a lifeless pen the care of telling you the feelings of her
heart... .. Perhaps you will say to me: “ But, my
little Thérése, would you express those feelings more
easily by spoken words ?”? My dearest auntie, I am forced
to admit it as true that I cannot find expressions to satisfy
the sentiments of my heart.

The poet who ventured to say:

“Thoughts well conceived find utterance clear,
For words to clothe them readily appear,”

certainly did not feel what I feel in the depths of my
soul. ... Happily I have the learned Father Faber to
console me. He well understood that “earthly words
and phrases are incapable of expressing the thoughts of
the heart, and that full hearts are those most shut up
within themselves.”

My dear aunt, I am wearying you with my quotations,
all the more so as the letters of my four sisters are there
to contradict what I have said.... If you do not
believe me now, you will be forced to admit one day when
we shall all be re-united in heaven, that the last and least

1 The saint herself underlined the repetitions penned in
the above letter.

APPENDIX 437

of your nieces was not so in affection and gratitude, that
she was the last and least only in age and wisdom.

I ask you, my dear aunt, to beseech the good God that
I may grow in wisdom like the Infant Jesus; I am not
doing so, I assure you, although I shall soon be nine
years in the house of the Lord. . . . I should be already
well advanced in the ways of perfection, but I am yet
only at the bottom of the ladder. That does not discour-
age me; I am as merry as the grasshopper. Like her,
I sing always, hoping, at the end of my life, to share the
riches of my sisters who are far more generous than the
ant.

Ah, I have indeed been born under a lucky star, and my
heart is profoundly stirred with gratitude towards the
good God who has given me relatives such as are no
longer to be found on earth.

Since, dear auntie, I am a poor grasshopper who has
nothing but her songs (and she cannot now sing except in
her heart, for there is little melody in her voice), I shall
sing my best song on your feast-day, and I shall try to do
so in such touching accents that all the saints, pitying my
misery, will give me treasures of graces which I shall be
happy to offer you. They will be so abundant that
my heart shall have nothing further to desire, which,
I assure you, auntie, is saying a good deal, as my desires
are great.

Pardon me, dear aunt, for saying to you so many things
that have neither rhyme nor reason, and believe that
I love you with all my heart.

To M. and Mme Guerin.

July 16, 1897.
My DEAR UNCLE AND AUNT,!
I am very happy to prove to you that your little
Thérése has not yet left this exile, for I know that you will

1 This letter was written in pencil.

438 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

be pleased. But I think, my dear ones, that your joy will
be greater still when instead of reading a few lines written
by my trembling hand, you will feel my soul near yours.

Ah, I am certain that the good God will allow me to
shower His graces bountifully upon you, on my little
cousin Jeanne and her dear Francis; I shall choose the
most beautiful cherub in heaven and ask God to give it
to them. If I am not heard, my little cousin may rejoice
in the thought that in heaven the Lord will give her the
joy of seeing herself the mother of many children, as the Holy
Ghost has promised when he sang by the mouth of the
Prophet-King the words that I have just written. ‘These
children will be the souls whom her cheerfully accepted
sacrifice will have brought forth to the life of grace.

I wished, dear uncle and aunt, to speak to you in detail
of my Communion this morning which you made so
impressive or rather so triumphant by your flowers. I
will let my dear little sister, Marie de l’Eucharistie,? tell
you the details, contenting myself with saying that before
my Communion, she sang a little couplet I had composed
for this morning. When Jesus had entered my heart, she
sang another couplet from Vivre d@’amour:

To die of love, O martyrdom most sweet.

I cannot tell you how beautiful and clear her voice
was; . . . inorder to please me, she had promised not to
weep; my hopes were indeed surpassed. ‘The good Jesus
must have perfectly understood and approved what I
expected from Him, and all is just as I wished... .

My sisters have, I know, told you of my joyousness.
True I am like a lark except when the fever attacks me;
happily, it only comes at night, when larks sleep with
heads hidden beneath their wings. I would not be as
lighthearted as I am if the good God had not shown me
that the only joy on earth is in the accomplishment of
His will.

1 Her cousin Marie Guérin.

APPENDIX 439

Adieu, my dear ones; only in heaven shall I tell you of
all my affection for you; my pencil cannot convey it now.

Letter of Sceur Thérése de l Enfant Fésus to Mére Saint-
Placide, her former School-Directress2

My bear Mistress,

I am indeed touched by your kindly attention.
I have received with pleasure your dear circular for the
Children of Mary. Certainly I shall not fail to assist in
spirit at this grand féte. For was it not in that blessed
chapel that the Holy Virgin deigned to adopt me for her
child on the beautiful day of my first Communion, and on
that of my reception into the congregation of the Children
of Mary?

I could not forget, dear Mother, how good you were to
me at these great epochs in my life, and I cannot doubt
that the signal grace of my religious vocation was im-
planted that happy day when, surrounded by my good
teachers, I consecrated myself to Mary at the foot of
her altar, specially choosing her for my mother, after
having received Jesus that morning for the first time.
T love to think that she did not then consider my unworthi-
ness, and that, in her wonderful goodness, she deigned
to consider the virtues of the dear teachers who had with
so much care prepared my heart to receive her Divine
Son. I love to think that, for this reason also, she has
deigned to make me more completely her child in doing

Me the favour of leading me to Carmel.

I think, dear’ Mother, that you have heard all about
my beloved’ father’s illness. For some days, I feared
that God would take him from me; but Jesus, in His

1 'To this letter M. Guérin wrote the reply quoted on page 364.

2 This letter was written in reply to a circular sent by the
nun to all the Childrea of Mary amongst her past pupils announc-
ing to them the féte of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the
Association’s commencement.

440 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

kindness to me, for the moment has restored him to
health, for my reception.

I was counting, every day, on writing to tell you of
my reception at the Chapter; but being in constant
expectation of hearing what date Monseigneur would
fix for the ceremony I waited.

I hope, dear Mother, that you have not taken this
delay for indifference. Oh, no; my heart is always the
same, and’I believe that, since my entrance into Carmel,
it has become more tender and loving. And so, I
think often of all my kind teachers, and I love to mention
them by name to the good Jesus during the precious
hours that I spend at His Feet. I venture to ask you,
dear Mother, to be my interpreter, in remembering me
to them, in particular to the Mother Prioress for whom
I retain most filial and grateful affection. Do not forget
either to remember me to my good companions whose
little sister in Mary I shall always remain.

Good-bye, dear Mother. I hope you will not forget
in your prayers her who is and will always be your
grateful child.

Sc@uR THERESE DE L’ ENFANT JESUS.
Post. carm. ind.

APPENDIX
(0)

DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE

I

RECORD OF THE BAPTISM OF ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT
JESUS.

Extract from the Register at Notre-Dame, Alengon.

N Saturday, the fourth of January, eighteen hundred

and seventy-three, has been baptized by us the

undersigned, Marie-Frangoise-Thérése, born on
the second of January of the legitimate marriage of Louis-
Joseph-Aloys-Stanislas Martin and Zélie-Marie Guérin,
both of this parish (rue St-Blaise, 36). The godfather
has been Paul-Albert Boul, and the godmother Marie-
Louise Martin, sister of the child. ‘These, together with
the child’s father, have signed their names with us. Marie
Martin, Paul-Albert Boul, Louis Martin, P. Boul,
F. Boul, Pauline Martin, Léonie Martin, Léontine Boul,

1 sq 2 ene
Louise Marais. L. DumaIneE, Vicaire de N.-D.
Il
RECORD OF THE MARRIAGE OF CAPTAIN PIERRE-FRANGOIS

MARTIN AND MARIE-ANNE-FANIE BOUREAU (PATERNAL
GRAND-PARENTS OF ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS).

Extract from the Register of the Parish of Saint-Martin
d Ainay, Lyons.

On the seventh of April, eighteen hundred and eighteen,

after one duly made publication of banns (dispensation

1 Copied from the autograph of the original record.
2 'The servant who carried the child.

441

442 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

from the other two having been obtained) without having
found any impediment or opposition whatever to the
consent of the respective parties, the civil formalities
required by the mayoralty of Lyons having been com-
plied with on the . I, the undersigned, have solemn-
ized the marriage of M. Pierre-Francois Martin, legitimate
son of the late John Martin and Marie-Anne Bohard of
Athis, captain on active service of the 42nd regiment
of the line, residing at Lyons, bridegroom, on the one
part.

And Miss Marie-Anne-Frangoise? Boureau, legitimate
daughter of M. Nicolas Boureau and Marie Ney,® with
whom she lived at Lyons, rue Vaubecourt, bride, on the
other part.—The witnesses were M. the Count de Labesse,
colonel of the Legion of the Loire-Inférieure, M. Averin*
battalion commandant in the same Legion, M. Moyat,
major of that Legion, M. Larue and M. Gourd, who with
other relatives and friends have affixed their signatures
with mine.

Signed: BOURGANEL, Vicaire.
This copy of 23 April, 1926, is conformable to the
original. P. VIGNON, Curé d’Ainay

Ill

RECORD OF THE MARRIAGE OF ISIDORE GUERIN AND LOUISE
MACE (MATERNAL GRAND-PARENTS OF THE SAINT).

Extract from the Register of the Parish of Pré-en-Pail
(Mayenne).

On the sixteenth of September, eighteen hundred and
twenty-eight, after the publication of the banns of future
Marriage between Isidore Guérin, gendarme, eldest and

1 On April 4, 1818 (the space for the date is left blank in the
original, but it is given in the State records).

2 Read Fanie instead of Francoise. 3 Read Nay.

4 As several proper names are illegible on the parish register,
reference had to be made to the civil records.

APPENDIX 443

legitimate son of the late Pierre Guérin and of Marguerite-
Elizabeth Dupont, of the parish of St Denis, diocese of
Séez, bridegroom, and Louise-Jeanne Massé,! eldest
and legitimate daughter of the late Louis Massé,! and of
Marie Lemarchand, of this parish, bride, fully announced
at the principal Mass here and in the parish of St Denis
on three consecutive Sundays, without any impediment
having been brought to our knowledge, we, the under-
signed priest, vicar of this parish, have received in this
church the mutual consent to matrimony of the above-
named parties, and have given them the Nuptial Blessing
according to rites prescribed by holy Church. Witnesses
present: Théodore Guérin, brother of the bridegroom,
Jacques Chéneviere, brother-in-law of the bridegroom,
Isidore Besnard-St-Marc, cousin of the bridegroom,
Louis Massé,! brother of the bride, Joseph-Victor
Besniard, friend of bride and bridegroom and several
others. Signed : AouryY, prétre vic.

This copy of 19 June, 1926, is conformable to the
original. M. j. MENu, Curé-doyen de Pré-en-Pail.

IV

RECORD OF THE BAPTISM OF ZELIE-MARIE GUERIN (MOTHER
OF ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS).

Extract from the Baptismal Register of the Parish of Saint-
Denis-s.-Sarthon (Orne).

To-day, the twenty-fourth of December, eighteen
hundred and thirty-one, has been baptized by us, the
undersigned vicaire, Azélie’-Marie, born yesterday of
the legitimate marriage of Isidore Guerin, gendarme,
and Louise Massey!. ‘The godfather, Frangois-Michel

1 The correct spelling of this name is Mace.
2 Usually called Zélie.

444 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

Septier, Brigadier gendarme, and the godmother, Marie
Berrier, cousin of the child, have together with the father
signed their names with ours.

Signed : F. HUBERT, vicaire.
Marie BERRIER, SEPTIER, GUERIN.

This copy, taken at St Denis-s-Sarthon, on the second
of July, 1915, is conformable to the original.

P. GERMAIN-BEAUPRE, Curé de St Denis.

ae
RECORD OF THE MARRIAGE OF LOUIS MARTIN AND ZELIE
GUERIN (PARENTS OF ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS).

Extract from the Register of Notre Dame d’Alencon.

On Tuesday, the thirteenth of July, eighteen hundred
and fifty-eight, after publication in the churches of
Notre-Dame and Montsort of the banns of future marriage
between Louis Martin, watchmaker, living in Alencon,
parish of Montsort, eldest son of Pierre-Frangois Martin,
retired captain, knight of St Louis, and Marie-Anne-
Fanny! Boureau.

And Zélie-Marie Guérin, manufacturer of Point
d’Alengon, living in this parish of Notre-Dame, eldest
daughter of Isidore Guérin and Louise-Jeanne Macé.

No impediment or opposition having been found—
dispensation from the other two publications of banns
having been obtained—and the civil formalities gone
through, after the ceremony of betrothal, we, dean of
Saint-Leonard, with delegation from M. l’abbé Jamot,
Curé-Archiprétre of Notre-Dame, having received their
mutual consent to matrimony, and having given them

1 Read Fanie.

APPENDIX 445

nuptial blessing,’ in presence of their relations and friends
who have signed their names with ours.

Louis Martin, Azélie? Guérin, F. Martin, Guérin,
Pr, Martin, Louise Guérin, A. Leriche, Lefort, Tessier,
I. Guérin. F. HureL, Curé-Doyen de St-Léon.

Certified copy conformable to the original. 17 July, 1922.
A. Bocace, Curé-Archip. de Notre-Dame.

VI

MILITARY SERVICE OF CAPTAIN MARTIN (GRANDFATHER OF
ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS).

Enlisted in the 65th regiment of Infantry (made 61st
in 1814) on the 26 August 1799; became corporal on
22 December 1800, sergeant on 7 March 1804, sub-
lieutenant on 14 April 1813, lieutenant 25 October 1813,
captain (provisional) 27 June 1815, commission ratified
21 August 1816, ranking from the 1st January preceding.

Passed in 1816 into the departmental Legion of the
Loire-Inférieure in 1821 to the 19th regiment of Light
Infantry, and in 1828 was placed on the military staff
at Strasbourg from which position he retired on the
12 December 1830.

Campaigns: 1779-1801 .. Army of the Rhine.
1803... .. Belle-Ile en Mer.
1804-1805 .. Sous Brest
1806 .. .. Army of Nord.
Too7™.. .. Prussia and Poland.
1814... .. Army of Nord and campaign in
France.
LOLS. oe .. Royal army in Morbihan.
1823-1824 .. Spain.

Decorated with the royal and military Order of St Louis on
August 20, 1824.

1 'The marriage was celebrated at midnight without any
parade. Only the members of the family living at Alencon
and the witnesses were present. The civil formalities had
been gone through on the evening of July 12.

2 Mme Martin, in this case, used the form Azélie, as is shown
by the official document. All her letters are signed Zélie.

446 ST THERESE DE L’ENFANT JESUS

Vil

MILITARY SERVICE OF CAPTAIN BOUREAU (GREAT-
GRANDFATHER OF THE SAINT).

Notes on his Family.

The maternal grandfather of M. Martin, Jean-Nicolas
Boureau, was also a worthy soldier. At seventeen years
of age, he enlisted in 1791 as a sergeant in the army of
Nord, and was promoted to the rank of sub-lieutenant
in the following year. At twenty, he obtained the rank
of captain, and served in the army of the Cotes de Brest.
Having in 1796 resigned on the score of health, he re-
sumed service in the Grand Army in 1812. On the 19
August 1813, he was taken as a prisoner of war by the
Prussians in Silesia; his son Jean-Prosper, aged 124 years,
who with him was also held prisoner, died there on the
21 September of the same year. In 1816-1817, he served
in the royal army at Lyons with Captain Martin. On
receiving his discharge in 1817, he returned home.

Twice during his miltary career, he was the victim of
hateful accusations which led to his discharge, but which
are refuted by the highest attestations from civil and
military authorities in his papers.

Amongst these numerous testimonies of praise, we find
that of the Marquis of Averin, peer of France, and of
M. Degrandmaison (de Grandmaison) chaplain to the
royal and catholic army of Vendée. The parish priest
of Ainay (his own parish in Lyons) also attests that
““M. Nicolas-Jean Boureau, captain, living in this parish,
rue Vaubecourt n° 4, with his wife and two daughters,
led a life dictated by the principles of honour, wisdom
and religion, and that this respectable family have merited
the esteem and admiration of the inhabitants of this town
for their virtue.”

His elder daughter Sophie married Staff-Colonel de

APPENDIX 447

Lacauve, who was Governor of Pampelune and St
Sebastien in 1823-1824. His second daughter Fanie
married Captain Martin. His grandson, Charles-Henri
de Lacauve, officer of the Legion of Honour, served also
in France. He retired with the rank of major, and died
at Versailles on the 20 May, 1899.

1 Knight of the Orders of St Louis and St Ferdinand of
Spain.

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